The Other Queen
by Christmas 95
Summary: You've heard the story of how Oliver Queen was stranded on an island, how he was desperate to get back to his home and to his family. However, you have never been told the story of how one other Queen was on the island. And how that could have changed the story in so many different ways.
1. Chapter 1

**All rights belong to CW and Warner Bros. I just own my storylines and Victoria. I do not own Arrow. If I did Victoria would be in the show. And to my amazing Beta Mrs. Thor Odinson.**

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The Other Queen - 1

Chapter 1

My name is Oliver Queen. For five years I was stranded on an island with only one goal - survive. Now I will fulfill my father's dying wish - to use the list of names he left me and bring down those who are poisoning my city. To do this, I must become someone else. I must become something else. You've already heard my story but now it's time for you to hear that of my sister's, her name is Victoria Queen.

*Insert Dramatic Arrow Music Here

 **Starling City 2007**

Robert Queen was packing some of his work papers into his briefcase at his home office when his daughter Victoria came into the room with a pointed look. He offered her a smile to which she only replied with a little half-hearted grin. Abandoning his work for the moment he turned his full attention to his daughter.

"What's wrong, sweetie?" he asked in concern.

"Nothing," Victoria lied with a sigh.

"No, there is something up with you?" he insisted.

Taking a deep breath Victoria replied, "Dad, I want to go to China with you and Oliver."

"No, that's out of the question," he replied seriously.

"Why?" Victoria asked confused.

"I need you to stay here and look over the company while I'm gone."

"I'm sure Walter Steele can watch over the company well enough. Dad, how many chances do you think I'll have to go to China again?"

"No, you are not coming," Robert Queen answered his 20 year old daughter.

"But Oliver gets to go. And he is the one that's going to inherit Queen Consolidated."

"Yes he is but right now him and I need some father and son time. And hopefully get him thinking more seriously about the company," Robert replied.

"But I've always wanted to go to China, please," Victoria said with a childish pout.

"No! and that's final!" her father declared firmly.

Robert Queen was traveling to China to oversee Queen Consolidated China. Victoria Emma Queen was his 20 year old daughter with bright blue eyes and blonde hair, not as light as Sara's but lighter than Oliver's. She was the middle child of Robert and Moira Queen, she was very close to her younger sister Thea. And she was the one use to spending extra time with her father because they had so much in common. Which was partly why she didn't understand why he wasn't letting her come.

 _Why does stupid playboy Oliver get to go and I can't. It's not fair. I'm the one who wants to see China. I wanted to see the Great Wall and other sights. All Oliver cares about is having a fun time. He wasn't going to really enjoy it as much as I would,_ Victoria thought bitterly.

So she sulked to her room and sat down on her bed with a scowl upon her face. _Great I'm left to have to deal with mom for the next three weeks. Oh, joy to me…_

She looked around her room and wondered what else she should do to entertain herself with while her father and brother were gone. She got up and went to her closet and pulled out her backpack. Just then an idea hit her. _I'm still going on that boat with dad and Oliver. They just don't need to know before we are already on our way._

She threw in some snack foods, a bottle of water and two outfits. _That should tie me over for a day or two._ She thought with a smile. _This is going to be great, I'll finally be able to see a country I've never been to before._

#

The Gambit was about to cast off so Victoria quickly and quietly jumped unto it and hide in a corner so no one would find her. Well not yet anyway. She watched in surprise as she noticed Sara Lance climbed aboard. _Why is Laurel's sister here?_ she thought as she watch Oliver smile at her. If she was here for what Victoria thought she was here for then he was in big trouble. She shook her head. _Oliver, when will you ever grow up?_

#

It was getting dark and Victoria was starting to wonder if she should come out of hiding and see what was going on. She had already ate three of her snacks and she was starting to get tired of her trail mix that she was currently eating. Just then she heard foot steps towards her, faster than she could hide in the shadows her father saw her. _Oh, no. I'm in trouble now._

"Tori?" her father asked using the nickname he had given her when she was just a child.

"Hi dad," Victoria answered shyly.

"Victoria Emma Queen, what in the hell are you doing here?" her father asked angrily.

"I'm sorry dad," she said bowing her head. "I really wanted to go. So I climbed aboard when you guys weren't look," she explained.

"You disobeyed me," he shouted, looking angry.

Luckily for Victoria, when it came to his children, Robert Queen's bark was worse than his bite. Victoria slowly crawled out of her hiding place, with her backpack on her. Just then they heard loud thunder and before they knew it...

Chaos, her father and the Captain grabbed life jackets and a lifeboat, she felt one being put on her. Water was splashing all around here. She moved her arms to order to keep afloat but she had no idea what was going on. Her head was spinning and she could faintly hear voices a little bit away from where she was. Her father and the captain grabbed her and took her into the lifeboat. A few feet away The Gambit was sinking into the ocean. Next thing Victoria noticed was her dad pulling Oliver out of the water. She realized then that someone was missing, she couldn't remember who but there was one less of them than there should be. _Wait a minute where is Sara?_ Oliver beside her was screaming for Sara.

"She's gone," Robert said to Oliver.

Victoria wrapped her arms around herself. _This couldn't be happening,_ She told herself over and over again.. She realized then how cold she was but there were no towels or blankets to dry herself off. She found herself getting closer to her brother and taking comfort from their shared body heat. _At least I'm not going to freeze to death._

#

Victoria felt so surreal, like her body was floating out of herself. What felt like days passed, nothing happened they were stuck on a lifeboat and they didn't have much food.

"There is only enough food for two," the captain said.

Next thing Oliver and Victoria knew their dad had grasped the captains gun and had shot him. _What the hell is going on?_ Victoria thought with baited breath.

"Dad, what the hell?" Oliver asked.

"There is only enough food for the both of you," Robert explained. "I'm not the man you think I am," he remarked.

"Dad, let's just sleep," Oliver said.

"You two can survive this, make it home. Make it better, right my wrongs, but you have to live through this first."

Then he brought the gun up to his head. Victoria felt herself move forward in order to grab the gun from her father. "Survive," he said calmly, then he pulled the trigger.

Victoria was first in shock then she couldn't seem to stop shaking. She held her hands up to her mouth and felt tears rolling down her cheeks down to her neck. _No! No! Dad can't be gone. He can't. Dad come back. Dad!_ Her brain screamed as she felt strong arms wrap around her. In between the sobs she could make out Oliver trying to calm her down but she couldn't. She couldn't seem to stop the assault of screams and tears. To say that she was a mess was an understatement, more like traumatized. _No, no. This can't be happening. Why is this happening? Dad just come back. Please come back. I can't do this without you. We can't do this without you. Come back!_

Finally, all her tears seemed to be spent and all Victoria could manage to do was stare at the bloody mess that hours ago had been her father. Oliver watched her in concern and slowly made his way to their father. Slowly he covered him up with a large piece of cloth he found. He couldn't take looking at his father like that. And from the look on his sister's face he half worried that by simply looking at their father's dead form that she would go mad. She was the person he had to look after now. He thought as he came over to her once more and held her close in his arms.

Hours passed and birds came, Oliver shooed them away, Victoria felt so tired, her eyes dropped and she fell asleep with Oliver watching over her.

Oliver watched his little sister fall asleep, he had always been sort of protective of her. He wasn't going to let anything hurt her.

#

Days and days went by and nothing, then they saw it, an island. It was large, covered in green and it had an uninviting look. They rowed to the island with their arms. They pulled the boat to shore and pulled the bag with their father in it out onto the beach. On the beach they fell down and slept, their bodies felt so looked into all of their father's pockets for anything that was his, he found a journal with a circular symbol on it, but seemingly felt so tired that both of them fell fast asleep on the beach away from the water.

#

When they awoke Oliver and Victoria walked around a little and found the perfect place to bury their father. They placed stone on top of stone until he was covered.

"Goodbye dad," Oliver said.

"Goodbye dad," Victoria said with tears.

Victoria had always been a daddy's girl, she loved both of her parents, but she knew she had a special place in her father's heart. She was his first little girl. She wiped away the tears that flowed from her eyes. She was tired and wary, all she wanted was to be back home.

Oliver and Victoria hugged and were heading back to the beach, when Victoria noticed Oliver had been hit with an arrow in the right shoulder. Then she felt pain in her own shoulder, she started to lose consciousness when she saw someone in a green hood.

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	2. Chapter 2

**I don't own Arrow. If I did Victoria would be a character** **:)**

 **I wasn't expecting the response this story has received. Thank you to everyone who has followed, favorited, reviewed and read this story. It means so much to me. Now I am only going to update this every other Wednesday. So see you in two weeks. And I want to thank my amazing Beta Mrs. Thor Odison. I hope you like it :)**

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The Other Queen - 2

Chapter 2

 **Lian Yu 2007**

As Victoria woke up she could hardly see a thing besides the fire in front of her. When she looked to the left side she saw Oliver waking up as well. While her eyes became more use to the light she noticed that they were both in a cave of some sorts. Oliver looked over at her and started to panic.

"Victoria are you okay?" Oliver asked as he looked his sister up and down for any sign of injury.

The arrows were still in their right shoulders. Just then a Asian man came into the cave, they both backed away from him. The Asian man put out a hand of some kind of herb and a cup of water to Victoria first, then Oliver and right when the pain seemed to kind of leave their shoulders, he pulled out the arrow first from Oliver's shoulder then Victoria's. The pain was agonizing and with every hour they both seemed to get weaker. After a few hours they fell asleep.

Oliver woke up before the man, he gently shook his sister who was asleep. He placed a hand over her mouth so she wouldn't scream. After he saw that she was awake he motioned for them to leave, they slowly walked out and started running.

They started to go slower, just as they stopped to catch their breath they got caught in a net. Hours seemed to pass but it was most likely only a little while before the Asian man came, talking to them in some sort of language and cut them down.

#

Back at the cave the Asian man brought a cage with two little birds in it.

"Shēngcún," he said pointing at the bird.

Oliver and Victoria looked at him confused.

"We don't speak Chinese," Oliver exclaimed.

"Shēngcún," he repeated.

Oliver pulled out from his wallet a picture of Laurel. "I'm so sorry Laurel," he whispered.

#

As the hours passed the man got some sort of food and cooked it.

"What's that?" Oliver asked hungrily. "Can I have some?" he asked reaching out for it.

Victoria was hungry as well. She watched as Oliver got backflipped by the mysterious man.

"Fine don't share," Oliver replied angrily.

The man pointed to the birds. "Shēngcún," he repeated.

Then he made a killing motion with his hands for them to do to the birds.

"I'm not going to kill the bird," Oliver said in a small voice.

"Shēngcún," the man said shortly.

"I've never killed anything before," Oliver begged.

"I don't think I could," Victoria said her voice equally just as small and yet smaller still.

Hours passed the growling in their stomachs got almost unbearable.

"Please, I'm starving," Oliver and Victoria begged the man.

He just replied as he always did. Oliver looked at one of the birds, picked it up and snapped it's neck. Looking at his hands he felt like he was a killer, even though he was starving. He reached in for the other one when the man motioned that Victoria should do it.

"But I've never even wanted to kill anything before," Victoria begged.

A few minuted pass, Oliver was cooking his food and looking at her ever so often. She felt a tear come down her face, she wasn't sure if it was because of how hungry she was or what she was about to do. She reached into the cage grabbed the bird and snapped his necks as she looked away, just as Oliver had. Victoria felt equally just as guilty, but her hunger outweighed her guilt. Oliver and her both finished cooking their food and started to eat. The Asian man returned.

"Shēngcún," he repeated pointing at the bird.

"No, bird," Oliver replied.

"Very tasty bird," Victoria added.

"Shēngcún not mean bird, Shēngcún mean survive," the man explained. "You both not survive this island, bird not the last thing you kill." Then he pulled out, from his hood the picture Oliver had of Laurel. "And forget her. You look at that all day you not survive this place," the man said seriously.

#

Victoria, Oliver and mysterious man walked around the island. The man pulled out his bow and aimed at a rabbit and shot it.

"Dinner, get," he pointed at the rabbit while looking at Oliver.

"Ah, come - Hey, I got an idea. Why don't you let me shoot that thing and you can go pickup the bloody, dead, disgusting animal?" Oliver said sarcastically.

The man handed him his bow, "Breathe, everything breathe," he said. "Aim that tree and breathe," he said pointing at the tree.

"Okay," Oliver whispered.

Oliver shot and he missed.

The man shook his head and said something in whatever language he spoke.

"What does that mean?" Oliver asked him.

"You die badly," the man answered. "Get," said the man pointing in the direction Oliver's arrow went.

Oliver looked at him in shock, the man folded his arms across his chest and pointed again. Oliver walked in that direction. While Oliver went to get the arrow, Victoria went to go get the rabbit.

As Oliver went to get the arrow, he got tripped and was taken by men in black masks and army gear. They dragged him forcefully. Then they threw him into some sort of cell with bamboo bars, that's in the ground.

"You can't do this to me. I didn't do anything," he exclaimed.

#

Back at the cave Victoria paced back and forth.

"Where can he be?" Victoria asked the mystery man.

"Probably got himself killed," he replied with a serious tone.

"Who else is on this island?" Victoria asked him worriedly.

"All you need to know is that they are dangerous."

#

Meanwhile the mercenaries dragged Oliver to a base and into a tent. They dragged him over to a pole and press his sore body to it as he winced in pain.

"Please, do sit. You're making me feel rude," the man said as he sat down opposite Oliver. The man spoke with a British accent.

Oliver sat down at the chair with his hands behind his back still bond. He watched as the man poured some sort of tasty looking beverage into a glass cup.

"I'm Edward Fyers, by the way. And you are?" Fyers asked Oliver.

"I am Oliver Queen. I've been shipwrecked on this island and I don't know for how long," Oliver said.

He didn't want to mention his sister if this guy was trouble.

"My family has money, lots of money, you would be really well compensated for my rescue," Oliver explained.

"And I look forward to that but first lets talk," Fyers said.

"Talk about what?" Oliver asked.

"Well first," Fyers said as he pulled out a picture. "This gentleman, do you know him?"

"No, who is he?" Oliver asked forging confusion.

"You're a poor liar," Fyers called him out. "I'm losing patience with you. Now before my manners leave me. Where is this man?" he asked more serious this time.

"I don't know who that is. I thought I was stuck on this island by myself," Oliver said his voice getting scared.

"Do you know what this island is called? It's Lian Yu, Mandarin for purgatory. But I can make it feel like hell," he said with a frown. "I don't know why you're protecting him," he started, standing up. "You're young, foolish, maybe you don't even know why. Think about that when you're begging for death. He's all yours now," Fyers said to a man wearing a black and yellow mask with a sword.

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	3. Chapter 3

**I don't own Arrow Cw does.**

 **I want to thank everyone from the bottom of my heart who has followed, reviewed, favorited or just reading this story right now. And to my Beta Mrs. Thor Odison. I have gotten so much support for this story.**

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The Other Queen - 3

Chapter 3

 **Lian Yu 2007**

Fyers and the man in the black and yellow mask tied Oliver up onto the pole in the middle of the tent. The man looked over at Fyers and he nodded his head in approval. So he pulled out his sword and started to cut into Oliver's skin on his lower stomach. Oliver cried out in pain. Then the man cut Oliver's skin on his chest.

#

Fyers came up to Oliver, "You have a resolve that I credit you for. Or perhaps you truly don't know anything." The he turned to the masked man, "Put him out of his misery."

Fyers headed for the exit and got knocked out. Just then the stranger came into the tent. He shot an arrow that cut the robes that held Oliver and he shot an arrow at the masked man, who grabbed it right in front of his face and broke it. Arms, legs, fists all were moving fast. The masked man would try to cut him with his sword and Oliver's rescuer would block with his bow. They both were masters, one would move, the next would block the offense, back and forth. The Asian man legs locked the masked man in a head lock and flipped him over. Oliver's recuser made him run out of the tent. They ran and ran till they made it to the cave

"What did I tell you? Island dangerous. Still you didn't tell them about me. You stronger than I thought," the stranger said proudly.

Oliver saw Victoria, they both met each other half way and hugged. Then their rescuer helped Oliver sit down.

"Take this," he said handing the bag of healing herbs to Oliver. "I'll fight them off, you both stay," he explained as he ran towards the entrance. "You both can survive this. Remember everything breathe, breathe and you will survive this," he finished before he ran out of the cave.

"Wait, we're coming with you," Oliver and Victoria cried in unison.

Just then a bolder blocked the entrance of the cave. Victoria and Oliver were trapped.

#

Victoria pulled out a picture of her sister Thea and herself. She wondered what Thea was up to at the moment. Would they still be mourning or would they have moved on by now? Perhaps they didn't know yet? She didn't know if it was days or months that they had been on the island. Victoria looked over at Oliver she knew he was losing hope. They had ran out of food two days ago and they were so hungry. Both of them were lying close to the fading embers. Oliver would now and then pull a piece of paper from their father's journal to feed the fire. Victoria and Oliver felt weak, tired and thirsty. They both fell asleep.

#

Just as Oliver was about to throw another piece of paper in the fire he felt his hand being grabbed, he turned around and saw with surprise his father. Oliver looked over at his sister still sleeping peacefully.

"Dad!" he asked in shock standing up and backing up. "You died."

"I asked you, I begged you to survive," Robert Queen said sternly. "But if you don't think you can," he pulled something out of his pocket. "There's still one bullet left."

Oliver grabbed the tip of the gun.

"But Oliver my death is made meaningless by yours," Robert explained slowly.

Oliver took the gun from his father's hand, his father looked down sadly.

"I'm starving, I'm going to die anyway. And I just want it to be quick, I want to be quick, like yours was," Oliver said, voice small and desperate.

"You can survive this," Robert replied sternly.

"No I can't, I'm not as strong as you think I am. And I'm sorry," Oliver said pulling the gun up to his head, he pulled the trigger...

Oliver threw the gun angrily down on the ground.

"Of course it doesn't work. I'm hallucinating or I'm dreaming," Oliver shouted.

"But if you weren't, you betrayed me Oliver. I died so that you could live and you threw that gift away, you made that sacrifice empty," Robert said.

"I'm not you... I'm not... I'm not as strong as you, I never was," Oliver replied.

"I told you and Victoria I'm not the man you think I am. All the things I've done, what I was about to do," Robert says turning and looking over at Victoria's sleeping form.

"Dad,.." Oliver says raising his hands slightly in confusion. "Dad, dad... What does that mean? Please... I don't understand what it means."

"I told you, I begged you to right my wrongs. This is your responsibility now," Robert answered.

"How? How do I do this? I can't even get off this island," Oliver said with a bitter sweet laugh.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you about me. But I want you to know that I love you, I love you both," Robert said placing his hands on his sons shoulders.

Oliver shook his head in understanding. Oliver awoke with a start. Victoria stirred at his heavy breathing.

"What's wrong?" Victoria asked in concern.

"Nothing, just a dream," Oliver lied.

He then turned to the dying embers and was about to throw another piece of paper from his fathers journal, when he noticed writing on the paper, he turned it around and looked at it closely. He held the book up to the fire at a safe distance and noticed different names on it.

"My responsibility. I promise dad, I promise," he said whispered to himself.

Victoria wondered what on earth was he talking about.

#

Days passed Victoria and Oliver worried that they would die. They both were asleep cuddled up together to keep each other warm. They heard a loud noise and woke up. The Asian man had returned.

"You both not dead, good," he said proudly.

"Where have you been?" Victoria demanded.

"We ran out of food and water days ago," Oliver explained.

The man didn't say anything just placed two rabbits and a large jog of water on the ground and then he walked outside of the cave once more.

"Hey, hey, where are you going?" Oliver shouted.

Victoria first grabbed the rabbit and was about to clean it. Oliver first went for the water and was about to get some when... The man brought another man with him. It took a second till Oliver noticed that it was Fyers.

"You," he exclaimed and punched Fyers in the face.

"Stop," the Asian man commanded, pulling Oliver away from Fyers.

"He's the one who had me tied up and tortured. He would have killed me if you hadn't shown up," Oliver shouted pointing at Fyers.

"Then you kill him," the Asian man replied, holding out a knife to Oliver. "He can take you home."

"What?" Oliver and Victoria asked in unison.

"He has a plane. A way for you off this island," the man explained.

#

The Asian man was walking in front, Victoria was in the back with the pocket knife her father gave her and Oliver held up a knife to Fyers.

"You're a good man," Fyers said out of the blue. "I can see it. Behind the fancy upbringing and wealthy veneer. I saw it when my man tortured you and you didn't give up your friend. Not really a friend really. Some one you just met."

"Shut up," Oliver ordered.

"What do you know about him, nothing I suspect. Do you even know what this island is? It's a prison, I mean its literally. Until eight years ago Chinese military ran this island as a penitentiary for criminals deemed so dangerous that they couldn't be safely incarcerated on the main land. When the military program shut down, my unite came in and disposed of all the inmates, with the exception of two. Your friend was one of them," Fyers explained.

Oliver grabbed him and made him stop. "Who was the other?" he demanded.

"You met him, he presided over your integration," Fyers said.

"He tortured me," Oliver remarked.

"You had information I needed. What would you have done if you were in my possession? What would you have done to capture the man that had slaughtered dozens of people?" Fyers asked.

"Just keep walking," Victoria demanded.

They stopped by a large tree. The Asian man brought the walkie talkie up to Fyers mouth.

"Call your people, tell them to get plane," he demanded.

"There is no need Yao Fei, my people with be here shortly," Fyers said smugly. Yao Fei looked all around. "Do you not think it convenient that you captured me so easily?"

The man with the black and yellow mask with the swords started to attack Yao Fei. "Run," Yao Fei shouted to Victoria and Oliver.

Oliver and Victoria didn't have to be told twice. They ran as Yao Fei fought the man. Victoria and Oliver were left running with gunman shooting at them.

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	4. Chapter 4

**A/n: I want to thank everyone who has reviewed, followed or favorited this story. You guys always brighten my day. And I want to thank my amazing Beta Mrs. Thor Odison.**

 **I don't own Arrow Cw does. I just enjoy borrowing them ;)**

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The Other Queen - 4

Chapter 4

 **Lian Yu 2007**

Oliver started a fire because they were cold and it seemed to take a lot of time.

"What was that all about?" Victoria asked Oliver out of the blue.

"What do you mean?" Oliver responded.

"You were by the fire in the cave and were saying I promise dad. What... What did you mean?" Victoria asked in concern.

Oliver sighed, he really didn't want to tell her about this yet. Just then the fire started to actually spark. Oliver leaned closer and didn't answer his sister. Victoria leaned over closer too, she was cold.

"Don't think that because I'm too cold to ask doesn't mean I am not going to ask you later," Victoria remarked. Oliver rolled his eyes at her, his sister was always so curious.

"What?! You say something out of the blue and I'm not suppose to be worried about you?" Victoria pointed out.

"What are you so worried about?" Oliver asked getting annoyed.

"I am worried that maybe, just maybe this island is making you... I don't know... just a little bit crazy," Victoria said bluntly.

Oliver couldn't help but laugh. Just then they heard a rustle of leaves. He put out the fire and grabbed his knife while Victoria pulled out her pocket knife.

As the guy rounded the tree Oliver attacked him and they fought until Oliver ended up pushing himself off a cliff and the man was killed by impact. Oliver slid off into the stream. Victoria was worried when she saw Oliver disappear off the cliff and watched as he got out of the water.

Oliver dressed into the man's clothes to blend in. And covered the man with tree branches.

"So what's the plan?" Victoria asked eager to get the hell out of there.

"You and I are first going to find a place that you can hide. Then I'm going to find Yao Fei," Oliver explained.

"What? I am going with you," Victoria demanded angrily.

"No, I'm going, you're staying," Oliver remarked.

"No, I am not! You're not dad and you're not mom, I don't have to listen to you," Victoria remarked angrily.

"Victoria."

"Oliver, I'm trying to survive just as much as you."

"Victoria," Oliver said taking the sides of her face in his hands."I have to do this. I also have to make sure you're safe. Do you understand?" Oliver said looking her sincerely in the eyes.

"Yes, I understand."

Oliver and her looked for a good hiding place and found an empty cave that wasn't as nice as the other one but would work.

"Okay, don't come out until I come back," Oliver ordered.

"How long should I wait?" Victoria asked.

"A couple days. First I'll get you some food then I'll leave," Oliver explained.

"But what if you die?" Victoria asked, half joking.

"Then I guess you should start getting you're own food," Oliver joked.

"Not funny," Victoria said sternly.

Oliver brought her five rabbits, kissed her on the forehead and headed out of the cave.

"Ollie?" Victoria asked in a whisper.

"Yes, Victoria?" Oliver inquired.

"Please be safe," she pleaded.

"I will," Oliver reassured with a smile and left Victoria in the cave.

Victoria pulled out her picture of herself and Thea. She smiled, she wondered what Thea was up to? Probably crying about them still being lost. Victoria wondered if she would ever get to see Thea as a grown woman? She felt a tear roll down her cheek. She had always been there for Thea. Rehearsals, recitals, dance, every play, big or small, Victoria always made sure to be there for her little sister. Thea had been kind of shy around anyone that wasn't family and Victoria liked to see when she went out of her shell and had fun.

Victoria could still remember the day Thea was born, she had been so excited. She would love going shopping with her mom to pick out all the cute little baby girl outfits, toys and of course little dresses. There was this little soft pink blanket that Victoria had told her mom to get. Thea loved that thing for ages, she would try to carry it around everywhere until she was five years. Victoria laughed at the memory.

She worried what Thea would be like as a teenager. Moria Queen was a very loving mother but she wasn't known for being strict when her children were teenagers. Oliver was a horrible teenager, skipping classes, drinking, crazy driving, doing drugs, okay maybe, maybe not the last one but he had been allowed too much freedom. Victoria, of course had moods and could be really moody or upset, sometimes over what seemed like really important things and sometimes she would just lose it. Being famous meant that there were people seeing everything about you all the time. She could hardly be in public without paparazzi, cameras flashing all the time. It got real old, real fast. She was proud of herself that she had never punched one of them.

Sitting in the damp, cold cave, Victoria wondered what Oliver had promised their father. It most be important or simply her brother was losing it on this island.

In Oliver and Victoria's sibling relationship, Oliver had always been very protective of her and of Thea. He could be going out with the worse kind of girls but if one, single bad boy showed his face around either of his sisters they were scared away. Victoria had once thought of it as nothing but purely annoying but now, now things were different. Maybe, just maybe because of that over protectiveness of Oliver's was the reason they were still alive and hopefully the reason they continued to survive on this island.

 _If Fyers is on this island with his men, is there a chance that some one, who isn't evil is on the island as well?_ Victoria thought to herself.

#

Oliver walked and walked, following the map that was in the jacket of his stolen clothes. He was nearing a camp of some sort. As he stepped closer he could hear foot steps and quickly hide behind a tree and pulled the mask on.

The camp had different man of all shapes and sizes all of whom had masks on. Oliver hoped that he was blending in okay. He kept stepping farther into the camp and stood in a line for food.

"Different camp, same slop. You know what I mean?" a man with a mask asked jokingly.

"Yeah," Oliver said with a laugh.

The man laughed in response. "Don't worry, it took me a while to get around the island," the man reassured.

"Thanks. Hey, I'm suppose to be transporting a prisoner. Chinese guy, who wears a green hood," Oliver explained.

"That's sounds like the guy they have in the east camp. I'm heading over there myself. Why don't you come with us, I can hitch us a ride," the man suggested.

Oliver looked down at the food someone was being served, he was hungry.

"Come on," the man hurried him. Oliver put the tray down and followed the man.

They made it to a car and right when Oliver was feeling safe he heard a familiar voice.

"Wait, I want you and you to go there, the rest with me," Fyers commanded.

Oliver felt his blood run cold. Why of all the camps he had to go to it just had to be the one Fyers was at?

As they rode along Oliver tired to calm his nerves.

"Are you one of the men posted at the border?" Fyers asked Oliver.

"Yes Sir," Olier replied quickly.

"Any news?" Fyers inquired.

"Nothing, everything's good, everything seems to check out," Oliver replied.

"Have you been with us very long?"

"Just arrived Sir," Oliver replied hoping that he sounded like a soldier instead of a sacred playboy.

"You do seem rather green. But tell me, I didn't know that they had brought any new men on the submarine," Fyers remarked.

"Submarine? I thought everything comes by plane?" Oliver asked.

"Yes, they do," Fyers remarked.

#

Fyers and Oliver were walking in a camp full of cages used as jail cells.

"This is where we keep our inmates that have a tendency to run off," Fyers said hitting Oliver to the ground with his walking stick. "Prisoners like you, Mr. Queen."

#

Oliver woke up in a jail cell. Fyers standing smugly in front of him and an other man with a mask beside him.

"Do you know why my men wear balaclavas, Mr. Queen? Because it masks everything but the eyes," Fyers explained.

"You were so desperate to save your friend. You trusted him but that trust seems to be misplaced," Fyers said with a smug grin.

The man beside him pulled of his balaclava... It was Yao Fei.

#

Later Oliver was sitting alone in his cell, wondering what had happen with Yao Fei.

Yao Fei came over towards his cell.

"So what you're working for them now? Why did you bother to keep me alive if you were just going to hand me over to them? I thought you were my friend or... something. Please just get me out of here, just get me out of here," Oliver begged.

"I can't," Yao Fei replied placing a cup of water for Oliver.

Then Yao Fei walked away.

Oliver threw the water, "Don't walk away from me. I came back for you. Do you hear me? I came back for you!" Oliver shouted.

#

It was very dark out when Oliver was being lead somewhere by Yao Fei.

"What, you're letting me out now? Where are you taking me?" Oliver asked Yao Fei.

The man didn't respond just kept leading him to a circle of Fyers men.

They watched as the man with the yellow and black mask killed another one of Fyers' men.

"Well, that fight was very one sided," Fyers joked. Then he noticed Oliver. "The reason for this little exertion is to prepare better cadets. I think our new cadet should have a go at it."

Yao Fei pushed Oliver into the circle. They started to fight, Yao Fei was easily defeating Oliver. Oliver punched him maybe twice before Yao Fei was over powering him. Then he put his arm around Oliver's neck and had a hand on his head, Oliver's vision went black... w _as he dead_?

#

Fyers had one of his men to drop Oliver over the cliff into the waterfall.

"Wait! I will do it," Yao Fei offered.

Fyers nodded his head in agreement.

Then Yao Fei came over to Oliver, he pushed him over the cliff...

* * *

Guest 1: Thank you. I am glad you are enjoying so far. Just keep your eyes out for him. He will be showing up soon ;)

Guest 2: Thank you so much. I am so glad you are enjoying it.

 **Please Review, Follow and Favorite.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Thank you to everyone who has reviewed, followed, favorited or just reading this story. I didn't expect the amount of support that I have gotten for this story. And to my amazing Beta Mrs. Thor Odison. I think you all are going to like this chapter.**

 **I don't own Arrow if I did Victoria would be on the show.**

* * *

The Other Queen - 5

Chapter 5

 **Lian Yu 2007**

Oliver felt life rushing back to him. As he reached the surface he gasped for air. He swam up to the shore and quickly reached his pockets and felt something, he pulled it out and found a map of the island.

When Yao Fei had pushed him over he place a map in Oliver's pocket and touched a nerve on Oliver's neck. Then he pushed him over, hoping that Oliver would make it.

Oliver studied the map closer and noticed a line to follow to an x. And it had the words 'Shēngcún' on it. "Shēngcún, survive," Oliver said to himself and crawled out of the water.

He started to walked to where the cave was, to get Victoria.

#

Victoria paced back and forth. Where was Oliver? He should be here by now. Then she heard footsteps and pulled out her pocket knife. She saw Oliver heading towards her. He looked very tired and wet. "Where have you been? I've been worried sick," Victoria fussed at her brother.

"It's a long story. But look I have a map and somewhere for us to go," Oliver pointed out, showing her the map.

#

Oliver and Victoria walked and walked till they got to a clearing with a plane that had been destroyed. They stepped forward timidly, worried of what they might find.

Stepping into the broken down plane Oliver and Victoria looked around and couldn't see anyone. Before Oliver or Victoria could say a thing a figure fell from the roof of the plane and placed one sword across their necks.

"If you try calling for help I'll cut out your throat," the figure threatened with an Australian accent.

"What?" Oliver said confused.

"Ollie?" Victoria said worry they were going to be her last words.

"If you don't tell me something believable in the next ten seconds I'm going to cut out your voice box," the man threatened again.

"I'm pretty sure Yao Fei didn't send me here for you to kill us," Oliver remarked sarcastically.

"What?" The Australian man demanded.

"Yao Fei sent me," Oliver clarified.

#

The Australian man pulled out the map Oliver had. "Shēngcún," he said with a smile.

"Yeah it's Chinese for survive," Oliver said with a small smile.

"Yes," the man quickly replied.

"What do you think he meant, besides not getting killed?" Victoria asked bluntly.

"There is an airfield ten clicks from here. Yao Fei and I have been analyzing it for months. But then Yao Fei was compromised and we were separated," the man explained. Then he handed Oliver and Victoria swords.

"What are you doing?" Oliver asked.

"I think Yao Fei sent you both because he knows I can't take the airfield myself," the man explained.

Then he started to fight with Oliver. Oliver didn't know what the hell he was doing.

"What are you doing? Fight back," the man exclaimed.

Oliver tried but ended up nearly falling on his face.

"You have no skill, no strength, no training to say that you fight like a girl would be a compliment," the man yelled.

"I'm not a soldier, I was shipwrecked here, I only killed the guy wearing this uniform by accident," Oliver explained.

"Where was Yao Fei?" the man asked.

"He told me to run, so I did," Oliver explained.

The man hit Oliver over the head.

"What was that for?" Victoria asked in shock.

"You're turn," the man said.

He did a different move and Victoria was ready to block it and tried to fight back.

The man laughed. "See you fight better then him," he remarked.

The man handed her over a drink. "What about him?" Victoria asked pointing over at Oliver.

"You'll see soon enough," the man remarked.

Victoria started to feel drowsy and felt strong arms holding her.

#

Oliver and Victoria were tied up in chairs. "What?" they both asked when they became conscious.

"Sorry, it's nothing personal," the man reassured.

"What are you doing?" Victoria asked nearly shouting.

"I can't take the airfield by myself and I can't take it with the both of you. If they find you, they will torture you until you give up my location. And I can not allow that to happen," the Australian man explained.

"So what you're just going to kill us?" Oliver shouted.

"Like I said kid, it's nothing personal," the man commented.

Oliver lifted out of the chair. "Hey, I'm not going to tell them anything."

The man pushed him back into the seat.

"Hey, don't hurt him," Victoria begged.

"Don't make this harder on yourself. I can do this in such a way that you won't even feel it," the man reassured.

Oliver broke his thumb and cried out. As soon as he was free he punched the man square in the face. The man pulled him by the collar of his jacket and started to laugh. "Slade Wilson," he introduced, holding out his hand.

"Oliver Queen," Oliver replied shaking his hand.

"Well Oliver Queen, there might be a fighter in you yet," the man remarked.

"What is going on?" Victoria asked in confusion.

"What do you mean?" Slade replied, raising an eyebrow.

"One minute you're trying to kill us, the next you're our friend?" Victoria asked.

"Okay sweetheart, what's your name?" Slade asked Victoria.

"Victoria Queen," Victoria replied.

"Well then Victoria Queen," He untied the rope that was tied behind her hands. "I want you to know that even if your brother had not escaped I was still going to take you with me," Slade explained looking her right into the eyes.

"That's reassuring," Victoria said sarcastically.

"Hey!" Oliver cried.

"Nothing personal kid, I just didn't feel right killing a woman," Slade explained.

Victoria shook her head.

#

Slade, Victoria and Oliver were all sitting in chairs.

"I hope you know that this doesn't change anything between us. If you get caught, I will kill you. You've been given your second chance," Slade explained to Oliver.

"We need you as much as you need us. What is our next step?" Oliver asked.

"Making you both into something that won't get us all killed. Choose a weapon," Slade ordered.

"Are we starting now?" Oliver asked in confusion.

Slade glared at him, so Oliver and Victoria got up. Oliver headed over to the case of weapons and pulled out a yellow and black mask.

"That's mine," Slade said proudly.

"You're the lunatic that tortured me," Oliver shouted.

"No that was another guy," Slade explained.

"Bull," Oliver replied.

"This is my weapon equipment balaclava, my partner and I wore them to classify our identity during our missions," Slade explained calmly.

"You're a liar. Fyers told me this nut cake who wore this mask was a prisoner on this island," Oliver explained.

"And Fyers is such a trustworthy individual, he lied to you. My partner and I were on a mission to free and get Yao Fei off this island. We are A.S.I.S, Austrian intelligence. Now it's time for you to find yourself a weapon. Have you consider a sword? I like swords," Slade asked.

"I want a sword," Victoria said bluntly.

Slade chuckled. Oliver looked shocked at his sister.

#

Slade started training Oliver and Victoria the very next day. Every time they fought him, he ended up kicking their buts.

Every time he pinned Oliver to the ground, "Dead," he would say.

One day Slade was training Victoria and Oliver with bamboo. Oliver at first was doing pretty good until Slade kept hitting him, because he was leaving himself open.

"How did you survive here for six months. I've seen girl scouts with more fight then you," Slade remarked as he was training Oliver alone.

"So what, we are girl scouts now, Slade?" Oliver asked jokingly.

Slade hit his hand.

"What the hell," Oliver whined.

"Kid, we only have ten days till the plane arrives. Only ten days to at least make you both half a soldier. So you might want to start taking this seriously," Slade explained.

"But what is the point. I don't know if you noticed but these guys carry guns not bamboo. So what am I supposed to do if one of them shove a gun in my face. Threaten them with my stick?" Oliver shouted.

Slade pulled out a gun from his pocket. "Shove this gun in my face. Do it," Slade ordered.

Victoria knew that Oliver would get his ass kicked and he did. She watched as Slade flipped Oliver into his back. And pointed the gun that had been in Oliver's hand at Oliver.

"I give up," Oliver said holding up his hands.

Slade grabbed Oliver by the collar and kept the gun pointed at him. "There is no giving up to these guys. No whining or buying your way out of this. You have two choices either escape or die. Now choose," Slade explained shouting.

"Escape," Oliver replied.

Slade started to put the gun down. "Then let me show you how not to die," Slade said.

They went back to training and Oliver was getting better and better.

"That's enough for you right now. Victoria you're up," Slade ordered.

Victoria stood in front of Slade. At first she kept getting hit until she started to block more.

"Good, but you need to start attacking me more. I'm being easy on you, these guys won't," Slade explained.

Victoria nodded and started to fight Slade. She hit the sticks he kept trying to hit her with until she changed up her attack and surprised him with a kick to the face. Her foot hurt afterward.

"Wow, I didn't know you could kick," Slade said with surprise.

"Yeah well there is a lot you don't know about me," Victoria remarked with a smile.

Slade smiled in response.

#

Back in their camp Slade pulled out photos of different parts of the island. "Lian Yu."

"I know, it's Mandarin for purgatory," Oliver said proudly.

"Yes, wonderful," Slade remarked. "The A.S.I.S. took satellite images of the entire island." Then he pointed to a spot on the image. "This is Fyers's main camp. I was held there for almost a year."

"Do you think that's where they're holding Yao Fei? Maybe we can send him a message, tell him we found another way off the island?" Oliver suggested.

"Forget about him," Slade states firmly.

"But he is the reason we are still alive. We have to save him," Victoria argued.

"Listen to me sweetheart, we only have a little while until the plane comes. We are not waiting around to save someone who isn't with us. You got that?" Slade explained.

"I understand not wanting to delay but he saved Oliver and I. I don't want to just leave him here," Victoria argued farther.

"I understand, sweetheart, but we have to be leaving," Slade reasoned calmly.

"Fine," Victoria said angrily crossing her arms.

"Here is the airstrip. It shows ten men on pretrial at any given moment," Slade explained.

"What too many for you?" Oliver asked with a chuckle.

"No," Slade replied with a small grim smile. "My problem is this guy, up in the tower," Slade pointed to an image of the plane tower. "The U.S. set this up for disaster zones in Korea after the tsunami," Slade explained.

"So what's the problem?" Victoria asked with her arms still crossed.

"The glass is bulletproof. So I can't take it out with my sniper rifle. And if he thinks anything is suspicious he'll call Fyers and we are cancelled. I need you both to take him out, up close and personal. Are you ready for that?" Slade asked looking them both right in the eyes.

"Do you think we are ready?" Oliver asked.

"I think there is only a supply plane every three month. So either we make it or die soon after. I'm all for making it," Slade stated.

"Yes, so am I," Victoria agreed.

"We leave tomorrow at six hundred," Slade said.

Oliver was climbing in bed and pulled out a picture of Laurel. "Don't worry, you'll be with your girlfriend soon enough," Slade reassured.

#

Victoria found herself awake before the others so she just lied in bed. She heard Slade waking Oliver up.

"Raise and shine," he said sarcastically. Then Victoria saw him head towards her. "Oh good you're awake," Slade said with a smile.

"I'm an early riser," Victoria explained.

They carried everything that they were sure to need. Slade picked up his old mask and dropped it carelessly back. Like he almost wanted to forget it forever. "Come on, we're heading out," he said with a wave of his hand.

#

Oliver, Victoria and Slade all as quietly as they could walked through the trees and brushes leading to the air field.

They were in a clearing when Slade made them stop with a signal of his fist. He looked both ways and seemed a little out of breath. "All clear," he said in what sounded almost like surprise.

"Can we rest for a sec?" Oliver asked/ whined.

Slade pushed forward. "We can rest on the plane."

"Yeah, I'm really looking forward to that in flight movie," Oliver joked. Then he heard a click noise.

He looked down, Slade and Victoria turned around.

"Oh My Lord," Oliver remarked.

"Don't move," Slade said holding out his hands in a calming/commanding way.

"Is that a mine?" Oliver asked.

"Don't move," Slade ordered, holding out a hand. Then he lied down next to Oliver and pushed away the dirt around what was underneath Oliver's feet. "Yep," he answered to Oliver's question.

"Oh my gosh," Victoria said covering her mouth with her hand.

"Did the soldiers bomb the island?" Oliver asked his voice getting high.

"No, this is probably a Japanese bomb from World War II. Impressive," Slade said half in awe, half in concern.

"Can you disarm it?" Oliver asked worriedly.

"Without disarming you," Slade remarked and looked at Oliver in concern. Then he looked past him. "Soldiers," he warned.

"They're going to see us," Oliver remarked.

"No," Slade said taking off Oliver's bag he was carrying. "They are going to see you," Slade said taking Victoria's hand and running away.

"Slade, what are you doing? Ollie needs our help," Victoria shouted whispered as she and Slade went running. They were far enough away that no one but themselves could hear.

"Sh...," Slade whispered, gently placing a hand over Victoria's mouth.

Meanwhile Oliver pulled over the balaclava over his face, pretending that he was one of the soldiers. A group of three soldiers came over to him. "What are you doing so far from camp?" one of them asked Oliver.

"I got separated from my unit," Oliver replied.

"Come with us," the same guy replied.

Oliver looked down at the mine. "I can't. I'm kind of having a bad day, you know?" Oliver asked jokingly.

Just then Slade came running back with a sword in his hand and yelling. He killed all three men as Victoria came up behind and watched, she couldn't say a word just stared at how fast he seemed to kill them.

After he had killed them he placed his hands on one of their bodies that was close to Oliver. "Be still," Slade hissed. Then he pushed Oliver by pushing the body where Oliver had been on the mine.

"Thanks," Oliver said in shock.

Slade nodded his head and looked over at Victoria. "Are you alright?" he asked gruffly.

"Yeah," she replied with her mouth still a gasp.

"See I had a plan," Slade remarked to her.

#

In Fyers's camp Yao Fei was walking into a tent. Fyers saw him at once. "Oh, Yao Fei, come in. Sit down," he said with fake politeness.

Fyers stood up and walked over to a create. Yao Fei noticed the gun that was pointed at him on the table. "I remember the first time I saw you running around with this," Fyers said pulling out Yao Fei's bow. "I thought you looked utterly ridiculous," Fyers said sitting down. "That is before you took out three of my best men," Fyers said with respect. "A shipment of 25 long bows will be arrive on tomorrow's supply plane. I want you to teach a few of my men how to use them," Fyers ordered.

"Archery can take years to master," Yao Fei explained.

Fyers glared at him, "I'm sure you'll be a proficient teacher. That will be all, you may go."

The man with the black and yellow balaclava came into the tent.

"I hope you're steadfast in your commitment to our cause. For her sake at least," Fyers threatened.

"I am," Yao Fei replied.

* * *

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	6. Chapter 6

**I don't own Arrow. If I did Victoria would be in the show and Thea and Roy would be together still. I want to thank each and everyone of you who have followed, favorite, reviewed and/or just reading this now. You all rock! And to my amazing Beta Mrs. Thor Odison.**

* * *

The Other Queen - 6

Chapter 6

 **Lian Yu 2007**

Oliver, Slade and Victoria all were around a pile of sticks and Oliver was trying to start a fire. "You weren't a boy scout, were you?" Slade asked with a chuckle.

Oliver smiled, "What tipped you off?" he asked sarcastically.

"You better hurry. Wolves come out at night," Slade said seemingly serious.

"Are you kidding me?" Oliver asked looking over at Slade's still very serious face. "Of course cause what would be the worst place on earth be without wolves," Oliver said sarcastically.

"And if anything can keep them out it's fire," Slade said leaning in closer.

"Well you're more then welcome to help."

Just then Slade pulled out a lighter from his vest pocket. Oliver looked over at him annoyed. Then Slade placed the lighter back into his pocket.

"Seriously? I've been working on that fire for two hours," Oliver whined.

"Yes, I was watching. Thank you for the entertainment."

Oliver just looked at him with a glare and gave a 'you've got to be kidding face.'

Victoria looked at her picture with herself and Thea. Slade walked back towards the fire with his sniper rifle. "Is that your boyfriend?" Slade asked, not seeing the picture at all.

Victoria chuckled. "No, it's me and my sister, Thea," she explained.

"You two have a sister?"

"Yes, Thea Queen, she is thirteen years old. Short, brown eyes and dark brown hair," Victoria described to Slade, showing him the picture.

"You two look so different."

"Yeah, I've always wondered about that, I guess siblings can look very different than each other."

"But you and Oliver look alike."

"Don't ask me, I don't know how all this stuff works," Victoria exclaimed.

Slade chuckled. "So where did you learn those high kicks of yours?"

"You mean the ones that hurt my feet every time they hit into your face?" Victoria asked looking over at Slade.

"Yeah, those ones," Slade said shortly.

"Probably between doing ballet since I was six, green belt in karate and yoga," Victoria explained proudly.

"Are you joking or serious?" Slade asked with a chuckle.

"I am being completely serious," Victoria reassured.

"I didn't know you did karate," Oliver added.

"So what's your story for all of them?" Slade asked.

"What do you mean?" Victoria asked confused.

"There must be a reason you did all of those," Slade explained.

"When I was five my mom took me to a ballet. I loved it, every second of it. Afterwards I would beg and beg her to let me take ballet. She must of thought it was just some phase because for nine months she told me no. Until finally at age six I was allowed to join ballet classes. Year after year I took it, in fact I was still taking it the day before we were shipwrecked," Victoria paused. "Anyway, at age fourteen I was offered to tour either Russia or France, I even took Franch and Russian in school. Month after month I would ask my mom if she thought I could go and for a while it sounded like I would, but then one day I asked her again and she told me I couldn't go. I was so angry, I thought about running away from home," Victoria explained.

"How is it that I didn't know anything about this?" Oliver asked annoyed.

"Because you never listen," Victoria remarked.

Slade chuckled at this and Oliver glared.

"What stopped you from leaving your home?" Slade asked.

"It was the night I decided to run away. I was packed and almost ready to go when... Little Thea came into my room saying that she had had a nightmare. So I wrapped her into my arms laid her in bed and laid beside her till she fell asleep. I remember before she drifted to sleep she said 'I'm glad you're my big sister Victoria.'"

Slade smiled and looked over at Oliver who was still looking all confused. "What about taking karate?" Slade inquired.

"One of my friends had this boyfriend, he was very abusive to her. So I took karate to defend myself," Victoria explained.

"Do you have a boyfriend?" Slade asked bluntly.

"No, I don't," Victoria said shortly.

Olive was placing a hand over the picture of Laurel.

"You're going to wear that thing out just by looking it," Slade joked. Then he sat down. "Don't worry, I'm sure she'll be waiting for flowers when you get back," Slade reassured.

"I doubt it," Oliver remarked. Slade looked at him confused. "Remember when I said I was shipwrecked? Her sister was with me when the boat went down," Oliver explained.

"That's funny, I never took you as the bad boy. You seemed to lack the spine," Slade joked.

"That's why I need to get back, to make this right," Oliver said adamantly.

"You think you can sleep with your girlfriend's sister and still make everything right? You're dumber than I thought. And believe me when I say that's saying something," Slade remarked.

"I know he is stupid," Victoria said with a chuckle.

Oliver glared at Victoria.

"Well you don't take me as the kind of guy to accept apologies, so," Oliver snipped back to Slade.

"Everyone is in this life for themselves," Slade remarked.

"Where did you learn that? At Austrian spy school?" Oliver joked.

"No, I learned that here. Do you remember I told you I had a partner?" Slade asked Oliver.

"Yeah," Oliver replied quietly.

"Remember the guy who tortured you?" Slade asked looking much more serious.

"You mean that freak show was your partner?" Oliver asked angrily.

"His name is Billy Wintergreen," Slade explained.

"Oh, okay," Oliver exclaimed, rolling his eyes.

"Billy and I were sent here to infiltrate Yao Fei and find out why Fyers was so interested in him. Our plane was shot out of the sky before we could see the airstrip," Slade explained.

"That's where we found you," Victoria exclaimed in understanding.

Slade shook his head in agreement.

"When Fyers took us prisoner he offered for us to join him and his men. Billy agreed and I declined. He was the godfather to my son, Joe," Slade said raising up from his seat. "And he turned his back on me without another thought. Everyone is in this life for themselves," Slade said angrily and walked away.

"Wow," Oliver said after he had been gone for a few minutes.

"That explains why he is so grumpy," Victoria remarked in understanding.

* * *

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	7. Chapter 7

**Hey sorry I haven't updated in awhile life has been a bit crazy lately. I want to thank each and everyone of you that have review, followed, favorite and/or read this story. I never expected the response that I have received for this story. This is a chapter I really enjoyed writing and I hope you all enjoy reading it. now onto the story...**

* * *

The Other Queen - 7

Chapter 7

 **Lian Yu 2007**

Oliver, Victoria and Slade quickly and quietly ran to the air strip. They all huddled closely behind a sack of creates.

"If you two let him radio call Fyers we are cancelled," Slade warned.

Oliver looked overwhelmed. "What about you?" he asked.

"Do you need any help?" Victoria offered.

"No, you two focus on your one. I'll focus on my ten," Slade replied firmly.

Victoria wanted to argue but knew it would be useless. Slade's mind was made up and he wasn't one to give up easily. So she shook her head and went slowly after Oliver, who pulled the balaclava over his face.

Slowly they made their way to the tower as Slade shot his targets, they would fall down dead without a sound. Victoria didn't want to focus on all the bodies that were dropping around her, instead she thought of her baby sister, who was home waiting for them.

As soon as the guard on the steps was taken out, Oliver and Victoria quietly made their way up the tower. Step by step Victoria felt like she held in a deeper breath, worried that it just might be her last. No, she shouldn't think like that, she berated herself.

Oliver slowly opened the door and headed in. Victoria held back seeing if he would need any back up. He held the sword high in his hand. The man easily dropped it out of his hands as he and Oliver fought. One minute he had the gun in his hand pointed at Oliver the next he was being sliced through with a sword. As he fell to the ground Oliver could see that it was Victoria who had run the sword through the man.

"Are you alright?" she asked slowly.

"Yeah," he replied looking shocked at the body that laid on the ground.

Victoria placed the phone that the man just had grabbed back in the charger. Just then Slade appeared in the tower. He looked over at Oliver and Victoria.

"Good I'm glad to see you didn't mess things up, Oliver," Slade said proudly.

"Actually he would have, I'm the one who had to save his butt," Victoria clarified.

Slade nodded proudly at her. "So I give you one job and you still manage to screw that up too," he joked to Oliver. "I'm going to make sure it's clear, Victoria you're coming with me. Oliver you stay in here and keep the door locked. Don't let anyone but me and your sister in," Slade ordered. He handed Oliver the gun. "Take this. Please don't shot yourself by mistake."

After Slade and Victoria walked out, the latter of the two shut the door loudly behind them. Victoria turned to Slade, "Why did you ask me to come with you?"

"I trust in you're abilities more then your brother's," Slade replied shortly.

Oliver laid the gun down on the desk and looked over at the phone. He picked up the voice piece and started dialing a number he knew by heart. He heard it ring and ring. Then he heard her... he could hear Laurel's voice on the other side. "Hello, is anyone there?"

Oliver placed a hand over his mouth and as soon as he was going to say something. He heard a loud noise. Slade was destroying the phone.

"Are you crazy? They could be monitoring every call," Slade says.

Just then there was a voice coming through the radio. The plane called in their report and asked a challenge code. Slade didn't expect this and tried to keep his calm, asking for them to repeat, "Of all creatures that breath and move upon the earth."

"Wait, I actually know this," Oliver said grabbing Slade's arm.

"What?!" Slade and Victoria asked in unison.

"They picked the one book I read in college," Oliver explained.

"What are you going on about?" Slade asked with a growl.

"It's from a book, The Odyssey." Oliver said with a pause. "Of all creatures that breath and move upon the earth... Of all creatures that breath and move upon the earth, nothing... nothing is born that is weaker than man," Oliver finished.

"Are you sure?" Victoria asked.

"I'm sure," Oliver replied.

"Are you? Because if you're not than this plane will turn around," Slade growled.

"Yes. Of all creatures that breath and move upon the earth, nothing is born that is weaker than man. Say it," Oliver replied.

Slade was about to talk into the talkie until Oliver stopped him. "Wait, wait. It's not born it's bred. Nothing is bred that is weaker than man. Say it."

Placing the talkie back up to his mouth, Slade said, "Nothing is bred that is weaker than man."

"Roger that. See you in a few hours," was the replied.

There was a collected sigh of relief. "The Odyssey," Slade said looking over at Oliver.

Oliver chuckled, "Yeah, well it's about a guy trying to get back home, so."

"After a series of air links you two should be heading home," Slade explained.

"Why does it sound like you won't be coming with us?" Victoria asked in confusion and concern.

"I'll will be coming with you. But after I call in a strike to this location. I'm going to send Fyers and all his men back to hell," Slade explained.

"Wait, you can't blow up the island. Yao Fei is still out there," Oliver growled out.

"He is none of my concern," Slade growled back.

"Really, I thought the only reason you were here was to rescue him. I thought he was your mission," Oliver replied pointing his index finger at Slade's chest.

"Well the mission has changed. Edward Fyers is a mercenary, he is not on this island by mistake. He has other plans for Lian Yu and they involve Yao Fei. And whatever they are they must be ended," Slade explained with a growl.

"Yao Fei saved my life," Oliver chocked out.

"That's your debt to repay, not mine," Slade growled back.

Oliver walked passed him, only to have Slade grab him by the arm forcefully.

"Where are you going?" Slade asked.

"For my entire life I've only care about myself. I took my family for grated, betrayed people I loved. I'm not going to be that person anymore. I can't leave this island without Yao Fei, I will not," Oliver declared.

"The plane leaves in three hours. If you and your friend are not on it I'm leaving without you," Slade explained.

"What about me?" Victoria asked them.

"You're staying with me," Slade growled out.

"Victoria, stay with Slade. If I don't make it back... Just promise me you'll go home and see Mom and Thea," Oliver replied.

"I promise," Victoria replied.

"And Slade, please just get my sister home," Oliver said turning to Slade.

"Sure, kid," Slade promised.

#

Oliver ran fast through the overgrowth of the island not stopping till he got to Fyers camp. When he got close to the camp he made sure to take cover. Behind crates and a large truck. He saw Yao Fei walk into the tent. Stepping into the tent he saw Yao Fei looking at a map.

"You were not suppose to come back," Yao Fei declared.

"I made it to Slade Wilson and he has a way off this island, but we have to hurry," Oliver explained.

"No!" Yao Fei exclaimed.

"What do you mean no? This is our chance. What could be a reason to possible stay here?" Oliver asked in angrier.

"Not what, who," Yao Fei explained.

Just then Fyers came in. Yao Fei sent a punch to his jaw.

"You know, I think it's about time you leave, Mr. Queen, permanently," Fyers said.

Oliver's vision went black.

#

The plane radioed in again and Slade gave them clearance to land. Afterwards he looked down at his watch and at Victoria.

"What are you thinking?" Victoria asked.

"That you and I should go help your brother before he manages to get himself killed," Slade replied.

Victoria raised the sword that he had given her, "I thought you'd never ask."

#

Oliver stood in the middle as Yao Fei, Fyers and his men surrounded him.

"I'm wondering how you're still alive. I watched Yao Fei choke you to death," Fyers remarked.

"I guess he is not as strong as he looks," Oliver replied sarcastically.

"And yet you still come to save him. Either you are extremely foolish or you think you're some kind of hero," Fyers said.

"I'm not a hero," Oliver replied.

"No, of course not. Because you can't be a hero when there is no one left worth saving," Fyers said with a smug smile.

"Is this what you want? You want me to fight him again?" Oliver asked in a shout.

"That's where you are wrong, Mr. Queen. This isn't a match, it's an execution," Fyers explained.

"I'm sorry," Yao Fei said.

Then Slade's old partner stepped in behind him.

"It's Wintergreen right? Bill Wintergreen," Oliver stated.

His only reply was a punch to the stomach.

"I know all about you. I know you worked for the Australian government and that you use to fight for your country. That you use to stand for something," Oliver remarked.

Bill sent him faster punches to his body. He cut the bonds upon Oliver's hands. Sent him another punch with a well placed kick. And grabbed Oliver by the neck.

"Whatever he is paying you, I'll triple it," Oliver said.

Then an expulsion happened right behind them and bodies were dropping by a sniper rifle in the background.

"Take cover!" Fyers exclaimed.

Oliver hide behind a create while another expulsion went off. Slade stepped out in the open and Victoria made her way slowly towards the creates and crouched down beside her brother.

"Slade, come back to die?" Bill asked him.

Slade took out his sword. And stroke the first attack that Bill easily dodged. They fought with kicks and just missed blows. Both were evenly matched.

"Is it so easy to betray me, Billy?" Slade asked intensely.

Their swords went flying once more and Bill was able to kick Slade to the ground. As Bill pulled out a knife from his belt, Slade got off the ground and sent a hard punch to his legs and his stomach. Soon he was holding the knife. And was holding Bill close to him. "Well, Billy," he said as he blocked another blow with Bill's sword.

Then Bill's sword landed on the ground. Victoria watched in horror as Slade held his knife dangerously close to Bill's face.

"Slade, no!" she exclaimed.

Slade looked up at her in surprise.

"He betrayed me," Slade exclaimed.

"That's doesn't mean you have to kill him," Victoria replied and stepped out in front of him.

"But," Slade started.

"Let it go," Victoria declared.

With one quick blow Bill grazed Victoria's stomach with his sword and Slade sent him a deep cut across his hand. And sent a hard punch to Bill's jaw that knocked him out. He was at Victoria's side within seconds and looked at her wound in concern.

"You could have gotten yourself killed," Slade exclaimed.

"Well I thought you were well worth it," Victoria joked with a wince at the pain.

Slade wrapped an arm around her waist and Oliver came over and helped too. Just then Slade was shot by a bullet through the arm from Fyers' gun. Oliver shot a few times but the bullets missed Fyers every time. They all made it out of the camp slowly. Slade and Victoria both wounded and Oliver the only one not injured.

Suddenly a man came at them and Oliver flipped him and pointed the pistol at him. Instead of shooting him he knock his gun across his head that sent him down on the ground. A noise was heard overhead and they looked up and saw that the plane was already leaving the island.

"There goes our ride," Slade declared.

All the they could do was watch as their hope flew above them. They all seemed to let out a discontented sigh and continued to their camp.

#

Slade was tied down as Oliver took one of the swords to take out the bullet from the injured arm. Slade growled as the bullet came out. Victoria couldn't bear to look, she was worried she would get sick or faint.

"I am impressed, you didn't throw up," he said to Oliver when they were done.

"I swallowed it," Oliver explained.

"You can untie me now," Slade declared.

"Why did you want me to tie you up anyway?" Oliver asked in confusion.

"A man in pain is unreliable, I was afraid I might kill you," Slade explained. "Thanks."

Oliver starts laughing, Slade and Victoria look at him confused.

"What?" Slade asked.

"I am trapped on an island and my only friend is named Wilson," Oliver explained.

Slade glared at him.

"It's not that funny," Victoria said with a chuckle. She then winced in pain.

"Come on. It's your turn," Slade exclaimed patting down on the create for her to sit down.

"Thanks for saving me," Victoria remarked as Slade looked closely at her side.

She winced as Slade cleaned the wound with water and whiskey.

"You were right, I didn't want to became him as well," Slade remarked.

"Yeah well I didn't want to miss our fun loving Slade," Victoria joked.

Slade shook his head and chuckled at her lame joke.

"You did really good today," Slade commented.

"I am glad you think so. I still managed to nearly get myself killed," Victoria replied bitterly.

Slade looked up and offered her a small smile, "I wasn't much better."

"But you're bad ass, I am just a rookie," Victoria remarked.

Slade didn't respond just smiled at her and continued cleaning her wound. He didn't tell her this but he now had a deep respect for her and was happy that he had her by his side. He was also proud of Oliver. He had actually listened to him when he was teaching him.

"What now?" Oliver asked as Slade bandaged Victoria's side.

"You heard my firework show set Fyers back. Maybe enough for the ones who hired him to call things off," Slade explained.

"Hired him?" Oliver asked.

"Well Fyers is a merc, he follows the money. So he is here on someone's employe," Slade explained.

"What will we do?" Oliver asked.

"All of us need to survive this God forsaken island," Slade remarked.

"You said that if we didn't get on that plane we weren't going to make it," Oliver commented.

"Well that dumb kid I trained, he wouldn't have made it. You," Slade stated holding out his hand to Oliver. "You just might have a chance."

"What about me?" Victoria asked with a smirk.

"You were already better than him in the first place," Slade remarked with a chuckle.

Victoria laughed and Oliver shook his head and looked down at the ground.

#

Fyers was talking on the phone with someone and they were giving him a hard time about getting his best fighter hurt and getting some of his supplies destroyed. Fyers promised he would do better and told him that Yao Fei was now completely on their side. He ended the call and Yao Fei came over to him.

"You called for me," Yao Fei said.

"I am a man of my word. You made a good call bring in your young castaway. For that I'll give you five minutes," Fyers explained.

Yao Fei went into the tent and saw his daughter Shado.

"Shado, Shado!" he exclaimed as he ran to her.

"Father! Father!" Shado exclaimed as he helped her sit up.

"I'm so sorry," he apologized in Mandarin. "I'm so sorry!"

"Father, what's happening?" she replied in kind.

He shushed her and placed a finger on he lips.

"It will be over soon," he exclaimed.

They both embraced.

* * *

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	8. Chapter 8

**Hey guys! I know it's been a while since I've put up a chapter but the holidays have been crazy! I hope you all had a great holiday and enjoyed time with your family and friends! I want to thank each and everyone of you who have followed and favorited or just read this story. To LauraHouse 95** **and** Erudessa-gabrielle **for the reviews, you guys rock. And always to my beta Mrs. Thor Odinson! Hope you all enjoy this chapter!**

* * *

The Other Queen - 8

Chapter 8

 **Lian Yu 2007**

The air was damp and the clouds were covering the sun. There was a clammy cold feel that sent shivers down Victoria's spine. Sweat was running down her forehead and down her body, making her soaked. Her stomach was churning uneasily. Slade sat next to her and winced in pain. Victoria tried to offer a small smile but grasped from the amount a pain that was coming from her side. Oliver came over with a cup and walked over to Slade and Victoria. He looked in concern and slowly helped Slade up a bit.

"Hey, you need to drink," Oliver remarked.

Slade held the cup and allowed some of the liquid to go into his mouth. Then suddenly Slade spout out all of the water. "It tastes like dirt," he declared with a distasteful look.

"You need to stay hydrated," Oliver exclaimed.

"Being dehydrated isn't my problem, my problem is having a bullet cut out of my arm with a dull blade," Slade explained.

"Let's take a look," Oliver declared.

He pulled the makeshift bandage and his face turned to concern. "That doesn't look good," Oliver exclaimed.

"It's infected," Slade growled out. Then he looked over at Victoria. "I think her wound is also infected."

Oliver looked at Victoria's wound and his face turned a little green.

"I need to stop that before it spreads," Oliver declared.

"Well when you go out to the drugstore to get disinfect, you could get me a issue of Maxim or maybe a Sports Illustrated," Slade joked weakly.

"I would love an issue of People if you get a chance," Victoria said with a chuckle then winced from the pain it caused.

Olive grabbed a knife and placed it inside his pocket.

"Yao Fei had these super herbs back at the cave that can heal anything. I am going to go get them," Oliver explained.

"You're not going to last an hour out there," Slade remarked with a weak and shaky voice.

"Oliver," Victoria said trying to get up.

Slade gently placed his good arm to stop her from moving. "Wow, what do you think you are doing, sweetheart?" he asked in concern.

Victoria sent Slade a glare that faded when she saw how concerned he looked.

"Then you should hope I'm back in forty-five minutes," Oliver exclaimed.

Oliver got out of both of their sights and Victoria looked over as Slade continued to wince in pain and was trying to muffle his groans.

"He is not going to make it without us," Victoria choked out with a wince at the pain.

"Let's hope for both our sakes that he does," Slade replied seriously.

#

Oliver made it to the cave as fast as he could. When he made it there he walked over to a large chest on the floor and picked up all of the 'super herb' that it held. He heard a noise behind him.

"Who's there?" Oliver asked.

Then turned his flashlight in the direction of the sound and saw that they cause of the sound was a young beaten up man who was crawling on the floor.

"Help me," the man begged.

Oliver looked at him in shock and asked, "Who are you?"

"My name is Alan Durand. I am an exchange student. I was on a fishing excursion with my class. We got lost and our boat caught on fire, some kind of mechanic malfunction. We had to jump ship," the young man explained.

"When?!" Oliver asked.

"Ten days ago. It was awful, I thought I was going to die," Alan replied whimpering.

"Where are the other students? Where is the ship's crew, huh?" Oliver asked in a shout.

"I think I am the only one that made it. I managed to make it to shore. I thought I was lucky but," Alan started.

"But what?! Did somebody find you, soldiers?" Oliver asked.

"Yes," Alan said with a loud whimper and started crying. "Yes. They had these masks on and attacked me, beat me, left me here. Who are they?! You can untie me at any point by the way."

Oliver hesitated and just kept looking at Alan in disbelief.

"Please those guys are coming back. You have to believe me. Untie me, please," Alan begged. "What do you think they just dropped me here as some trap?"

"Why would they just tie you up and leave you here? Why not just kill you?" Oliver questioned.

"They were going to. They got called away to some other location. If they come back they'll kill both of us. Please you have to believe me, please!" Alan begged.

"Alright. Alright turn around," Oliver commanded.

"Thank you," Alan replied with another whimper. He slowly turned around and sat on the ground. "Thank you."

Oliver brought the knife to his bounds but hesitated. He looked up at the back of Alan.

"I am sorry, but I can't," Oliver replied.

"What?! Why?! Why not?!" Alan exclaimed.

"Because I don't know you," Oliver explained.

"Are you out of your mind? Please!" Alan shouted.

Oliver turned around and headed out of the cave.

"Please! You can't leave me here!" Alan shouted after him.

#

Oliver walked into their secret hideout, Victoria and Slade perked up from their spots once they saw him.

"Wow, you're not dead!" Victoria said sarcastically.

"I thought you were a goner for sure," Slade chimed in.

"Yeah, well sorry to disappoint," Oliver joked.

He went straight to work placing the 'super herbs' into a cup of water for Slade and Victoria each. He handed Slade his first and then he helped Victoria up and held the cup for her.

"Tastes like an ashtray. But it hits the spot, kid. I owe you one," Slade said after finishing.

Victoria finished her own and Oliver smiled at Slade and Victoria with the smallest smile.

"Thanks, bro," Victoria remarked.

Victoria then turned to Slade and noticed how stiff he was even then. She hoped they both would start feeling better soon. There was nothing worse then feeling helpless on this dangerous island.

"You didn't run into any trouble out there, did you?" Slade asked Oliver seriously.

"Hm?" Oliver replied.

Slade looked at him in concern and alarm.

"No, not a bit," Oliver lied.

#

Days passed, Victoria and Slade got back to almost their full strength and were waiting for Oliver to come back from hunting. Victoria impatiently tapped her fingers against her torn up jeans. Slade silently watched as she made up one rhythm after another.

"I wonder what's been up with Oliver?" Victoria said out of the blue.

"What do you mean?" Slade asked pulling his arm to rest onto his stomach.

"He has been acting really weird lately. I mean he is quieter than usual," Victoria explained.

"I think the seriousness of our injures gave him a scare," Slade replied.

Victoria shook her head, "I think it's something more than that."

"Well if you're so concerned maybe you should ask him about it," Slade remarked.

Silence passed between the two. It wasn't awkward, or at least not anymore. They had both gone through too much for silence to be awkward between them. A thought kept running through Victoria's mind and she was biting on her lower lip, a habit she usually did when she was thinking hard about something.

"What?" Slade asked noticing her face.

"Hm?" Victoria asked having her thoughts broken up.

"What are you thinking about?" Slade asked.

"What do you mean?" Victoria asked in confusion.

"You're biting your lower lip. You only do that when you're thinking about something," Slade explained.

"Oh," Victoria replied in shock.

She hadn't noticed he had seen this certain habit of hers. Slade just looked at her and waited from her to explain.

"Slade," Victoria started.

"Yes, Victoria," Slade replied with a teasing grin.

Victoria ignored the shiver that was sent down her spine. She momentarily wonder why it had happened. However she didn't want to lose all the courage she was building up to ask him what she was about to ask him.

"You said that you had a son," Victoria said.

"I have two sons, Grant and Joe. And a daughter," Slade explained.

Victoria was surprised by this new information but that's not what she wanted to ask him.

"I was wondering who... Who their mother is... What happened to her? You don't talk about them a lot," Victoria finished.

Slade's face fell and Victoria nearly took back asking him, until he finally answered her.

"Adeline Wilson was the name of my wife. We were married for eight years, I married her when I was twenty-five," Slade explained.

"What happened? Did you get divorced?" Victoria asked placing a hand on his arm.

Slade looked down at her small little hand and couldn't help but look at it in both disbelief and gratitude. He was not expecting that reaction from her for what he had said. Or that it would matter so much to her about his life. It almost made him want to hope, that maybe she cared for him. He looked back up at her face and offered a small smile.

"No, she died," Slade replied.

"What happened to her?" Victoria said with concern.

Slade smiled bigger at her concern but knew there was nothing she could have done to prevent what happened. No one could have changed what happened.

"It was a few years after she had our youngest. The doctors said it was breast cancer. It was in our eighth year of marriage when the cancer took her from us," Slade explained.

Victoria squeezed his arm in sympathy. And offered him a concerned little half smile. He placed a hand onto hers and squeezed it in response.

"I am sorry, Slade," Victoria said at last.

"It's not your fault," Slade remarked.

"I know. But it must have been hard for you," Victoria replied. "It wasn't easy watching my father kill himself for us."

"That is what life does, it makes you stronger. Whether you want it to or not," Slade commented with a humorless chuckle.

Victoria squeezed his arm once more. Oliver walked into the crashed plane and Victoria pulled her hand away from Slade's arm. Victoria looked over at what Oliver brought. While Slade noticed how cold he suddenly felt without her small hand upon his arm and tried to shake off the feeling. Oliver looked at him quizzically. Slade only responded with a forced smile and watched as Victoria moved around her injury to keep the fire burning bright.

#

Weeks passed, Slade and Victoria were now perfectly healthy. Oliver was still in his uniform.

Slade was wearing his muscle shirt and was wearing his camo pants. Victoria was wearing a purple cami and her torn blue jeans. Oliver was trying to do pull-ups and Slade was counting. At only the number four Oliver stopped and Slade chuckled at him.

"I am more of a runner," Oliver explained.

Slade pulled off his own shirt and got ready for his turn. Victoria was trying hard not to notice his nicely built peaks, abs and didn't notice how strong and manly his arms looked. Instead she looked at the floor and Oliver gave her a funny look.

"Why the sudden desire to work out?" Oliver asked Slade.

"What else is there to do?" Slade asked in response.

Victoria laid down on the ground and started doing sit-ups. He was right, there wasn't much to do on this island. And anything that desecrated her from checking out Slade was welcomed. She knew making things difficult between them wasn't anything that she wanted to do. Maybe, maybe there would be a time to even think about it, but it wasn't now. Now they had to survive and get off this island.

"If we can try to think of another way off the island," Oliver remarked.

"There isn't another way. If there was I would have found it," Slade replied bluntly.

"I can't just sit here and wait here for Fyers to come here and kill us," Oliver exclaimed.

"I have an idea, why don't we go in the forest, gather all the bamboo we can find and make a boat like they did on Gilligan's Island," Slade said sarcastically.

"Smart ass," Victoria said under her breath.

Slade turned in her direction. "What did you say, sweetheart?" he asked pointedly.

"Oh, just shut up," Victoria mumbled back.

Oliver went over to the radio and tried to use it and found everything broken.

"That doesn't work, it got busted after the crash," Slade explained.

"Did you try getting it to work?" Oliver asked annoyed.

"I'm better at pulling things apart," Slade replied.

Oliver went to the other side of the radio where all the wires were.

"My dad was a pilot, he use to do his own maintenance," Oliver remarked.

"So what do you think maintenance is just genetic," Slade remarked with a chuckle.

"I use to help him and I remember liking it and I got pretty good at it. So maybe I can make the radio work," Oliver exclaimed.

"You should be training for the inevitable fight," Slade commented.

"I think I have a better chance at making the radio work," Oliver remarked bluntly.

#

Days passed Slade continued to train Victoria while Oliver spent most of his time working on the radio when he wasn't eating. One day Slade was out hunting and Victoria was doing some reaches and pull-ups on the pole. Slade came back after hours of being gone and had a large animal tied to a large log behind his back.

"I hope you both like barbecue," Slade remarked as he walked in.

"Thanks, Slade," Victoria said with a flushed face.

"Well I am glad someone cares that I spent six hours in a tree to get this," Slade exclaimed.

"What?" Oliver asked.

"Oliver, you've been working on that for days," Victoria declared.

"I'm not hungry, I'll eat later," Oliver replied.

Victoria shook her head and helped Slade clean the beast. Maybe Oliver wasn't hungry but she was. Slade smiled as Victoria went straight to work skinning and cleaning the animal. He thought she was pretty good at this surviving bit of being here. Oliver on the other hand would probably die without them both. He knew Oliver was strong but he got too easily distracted, too easily turned from where his attention should be. Slade was starting to get this strange feeling around Victoria, like he was a moth to flame. He just wanted to be near her. He tried to not dwell on the thought though. The last thing any of them needed right now was to be distracted. Maybe after they were off this island or maybe once Fyers was killed or off the island, maybe he could start thinking of the possibility of them together. But right now they needed to train, eat and make sure they were ready for the fight.

"You've been at that for days, give it a rest," Slade remarked to Oliver.

"That's because I can do this," Oliver replied.

"Sure kid, when pigs fly," Slade joked.

Victoria shot Slade a glare and continued skinning the meat. Suddenly the radio started to make noise and Oliver's face lit up in a large grin. Slade turned around and looked surprised."You've got to be kidding me," Slade commented and ran over to Oliver. "How did you clean this up?" Slade asked him.

"I don't know, I don't know how I got this far," Oliver exclaimed.

Victoria ran over to them and placed a hand on Slade's arm and was smiling from ear to ear. Slade picked up the mouth piece. He said something into it and waited for a response. Nothing happened and he tried again. This time he spoke longer and added different details, but still no answer came. Victoria let her hand slide off his arm and Slade forcefully slammed the mouthpiece down in angrier.

"They still can't hear us and we can't call out. We are still trapped here," Slade exclaimed.

Victoria looked down at the floor in angrier and disappointment. While Oliver just stood there looking at the radio with disgust and angrier.

Hours later Slade was turning numbs on the radio and Oliver was just sitting looking at the device with annoyance.

"If they can't hear us what's the point?" Oliver asked in confusion.

"Slade, it's still useless," Victoria chimed in.

Slade continued to turn the numbs, "You've still might have done us some good."

Suddenly they could heard Fyers voice across the radio and Slade looked beyond relieved. Oliver jumped up and ran over towards Slade and the radio. Victoria perked up and stood close by.

"I've toned in to the soldiers frequency," Slade explained.

More words were exchanged between Fyers and another male voice.

"Who is Fyers talking to?" Oliver asked.

"I don't know. Sounds like someone off the island, maybe his benefactor. But more importantly who or what is Scylla?" Slade asked.

"The Scylla was in The Odyssey from one of the nightmare chapters. Scylla was a monster," Oliver explained.

Slade grabbed both his swords and placed them in their holder. Then he handed another to Victoria.

"I want to meet this monster," Slade declared.

Then he walked towards the doorway of the hideout.

"Am I going alone?" Slade asked.

Oliver went over to grab his knife. Victoria placed her sword into her own holder and they both headed out of the camp with Slade.

#

Victoria, Slade and Oliver crouched down and hide from sight while Slade looked through the binocular.

"What is it?" Oliver asked.

"Doesn't look good whatever it is," Victoria added.

"You were right, Scylla is a monster. A Russian made anti-aircraft missile launcher. It can take out up to a hundred targets and engaging at least a dozen. From here it can shoot down a commercial airline or start a war," Slade explained seriously.

Oliver looked at him in concern. Victoria wondered what could possible bring down such a monster.

* * *

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	9. Chapter 9

**Hey guys! To everyone who has been following this story I recently added a few things to my first chapter of this story, so you can check that out if you want. Again I want to thank each and everyone of my readers, followers and reviewers. You all mean so much to me! And to my Beta Mrs. Thor Odinson. You rock girl!**

* * *

The Other Queen – 9

 **Lian Yu 2007**

Oliver, Victoria and Slade all looked more closely at the anti-aircraft missile launcher.

"One of those missiles has an affected range of 24 km. We're not going anywhere until we figure out what Fyers is planning," Slade explained.

"Wild guess, he is planning on blowing something up," Oliver remarked.

"One of those can do the job but this is about starting a war," Slade declared.

"With who?" Oliver asked.

"Does it matter? We have to stop Fyers before he kills thousands of innocent people," Slade replied.

"I agree with Slade," Victoria spoke up.

"Thanks sweetheart," Slade said with a smirk.

"There are a ton of soldiers down there, even if we can get through all of them we can't just steal a whole missile launcher," Oliver remarked.

"Who said anything about stealing?" Slade stated.

"Slade, what are you planning?" Victoria asked in concern.

"Yeah so what's the plan? Ambush?" Oliver asked Slade pointedly.

"It's impossible we can't take out all six without them radioing for backup," Slade explained.

"We could if we managed to get all the soldiers in one place," Oliver pointed out.

"You're right," Slade remarked looking at Oliver intensely.

#

Oliver had his balaclava covering his face and he had one hand on Slade and another on Victoria. They were heading into the small camp.

"Hey! I caught them circling the perimeter!" Oliver declared through the mask.

Then he forcefully pushed Slade and Victoria further into the camp. About three of Fyers' men came closer with machine guns.

"Wilson! You killed some of my friends, you son-of-a-bitch," one of them shouted.

"And I'm going to kill a few more," Slade declared, pulling out two pistols.

Victoria and Oliver got out of the way as Slade quickly took out each of the soldiers and turned back towards them with a giant grin.

"I think you take too much enjoyment out of this," Victoria commented to Slade.

"Maybe just a little," he replied with a smirk.

Victoria rolled her eyes and walk towards the launcher with a smiling Slade following close behind her.

#

Slade opened a crate of charges and handed some to Oliver and Victoria to place into the missile launcher. On one end of a walkie. That they had 'borrowed' from one of the dead soldiers, Slade told Oliver and Victoria to hurry. More soldiers were 60 seconds away from the launcher with backup. Curiously Oliver opened the control panel.

"We have to hurry before they arrive!" Slade shouted.

"I think I have a better idea," Oliver exclaimed, pulling out the circuit board.

"What are you doing?" Slade asked in a stern voice.

"Ollie, stop playing around. They're going to be here within seconds!" Victoria exclaimed.

"I'm taking their circuit board, computers can't work without them and neither will this," Oliver explained showing them the grey and green circuit board.

Slade grabbed the walkie and gripped Oliver by the shoulders happily, "Leverage!"

Then Slade ran and made sure Victoria and Oliver were right behind him. Maybe they could all finally go home.

#

It was dark outside Slade, Oliver and Victoria were taking cover right outside of where the missile launcher was stationed. Victoria leaned in closer to Slade and they both watched the perimeter with Slade's pair of binoculars. She smiled as she watched Fyers and his men wandering through the camp trying to find the circuit board. _Finally, that bastard was getting a little of his own medicine, she thought._ She turned to Slade and saw how pleased he looked about the view as well.

"Your plan, your call," Slade explained to Oliver as he handed him the walkie.

"Slade, are you sure Oliver should be the one making the calls?" Victoria asked in concern.

"Thanks for the support, sis," Oliver deadpanned.

Slade simply chuckled and gave Oliver an encouraging nod. Victoria held her breath and waited as Oliver held the walkie firmly in his hands and looked over at Slade and her with a slight bit of worry covering his features. Finally, he took a deep breath and press the button on the side of the walkie, "Fyers."

"Mr. Queen, I thought I would be hearing from you," Fyers greeted.

"We have the circuit board," Oliver simply stated.

"You're making a grave mistake. My men are scrawling the island as we speak. When they fine you, they will kill you. Very slowly I am afraid," Fyers threatened in a bored tone.

Slade was still smirking and watching through the binoculars as different groups of men went this way and that. He silently handed them over to Victoria so she also could have a look. _So, this is how his men look when not everything is going to plan? She thought with a smirk._

"You may kill us but you'll never find the circuit board and after that we both know all you'll be left is a really ugly piece of modern art," Oliver remarked with a pointed smirk to his comrades.

Slade and Victoria smiled back. "Good job, Ollie," Victoria said elbowing him in the arm.

"Then what do you purpose?" Fyers asked seriously.

"A trade."

"I see. And what do you want in exchange?"

"I want a way off the island."

Victoria and Slade were making sure to watch the soldiers, make sure nothing odd was going on.

"Simple exchange, you give us a way off the island and we'll give you the circuit board so your missile launcher isn't just a piece of furniture," Oliver explained through the walkie.

"You've grown up quite a bit, Mr. Queen, I'll give you that. I can get you a boat but I need time."

"You've got an hour, Fyers and then…"

Slade grabbed Oliver's arm forcefully. "What?" Oliver whispered.

Slade snatched the walkie from him, "We understand that it may take longer than an hour to get a boat. What we mean is you need to with some dispatch."

"Oh Wilson, still in command, are you? I thought your pet had staged this all by himself."

"Just give us the damn boat," Slade growled in response.

Victoria looked over at Slade and Oliver in concern. _Would Fyers delivery on his promise or was he going to stab them all in the back? She guessed that was a chance they had to take. If only they didn't have to make a deal with the devil._

 _#_

It was early in the morning when Slade, Oliver and Victoria headed towards the meeting place to see Fyers. Victoria intently watched as Slade lead in the front he was walking evenly and you could never tell how injured he once had been. If they really did get off this island would she ever see him again, would he even want to?

"What?" Slade asked, breaking her out of her thoughts.

When had he moved to stand next closer to her?

"What?" Victoria asked in confusion.

"Biting your lip. Must be thinking about something," Slade explained.

Victoria smiled and waited a moment to collect her thoughts before replying, "What is the first thing you're going to do when we get off this island?"

"That's easy, take one hot shower and then sleep in a comfy bed for a change. You?"

"I'm looking forward to seeing my family again."

"You and me both, sweetheart. Suppose that sister of yours is missing you a lot."

"I sure hope so. And gosh do I miss my own bed."

Slade laughed and seemed to move closer towards her, standing only a few inches away. Moments passed in silence but he felt like there was something he should say. Gently he grabbed her arm and brown eyes meet blue ones.

"I want you to know I am proud at how far you and Oliver have come along. It's been nice knowing that at least I always had someone who had my back. I am proud of you… the both of you," Slade quickly added.

"I couldn't have done it without you. I mean we couldn't have done it without you. You were a wonderful teacher," Victoria replied, fumbling over her words.

Slade grinned and leaned in closer towards her. His eyes flickering back and forth between her bright blue eyes and rosy lips.

"Guys, we are almost there," he heard Oliver's voice break him from his thoughts

"Yeah, kid," Slade remarked and continued to move forward.

 _Had he just considered kissing Victoria Queen? Had he nearly had his lips touch those of someone he couldn't hope to ever win? He was just a man who killed bad guys to make a living and she… she had and always will have everything she could ever want with a flick of her wrist. Maybe it wasn't the case now but once she got off this island that's the kind of life she would be returning to. He wasn't a part of that life, that wasn't something he could give her._ He felt a scowl appear on his face and he quicken his speed so he was standing in the front once more. _If he was going to have to let go of her, he might as well do it now. It wasn't like it was going to easier later. Damn. Why had he let himself entertain ideas of them together?_

Just then they could see Fyers and his men on the other side, heading towards their meeting place.

"Oh, gentlemen welcome and let us not forget the lady present, so happy we could reach an accord," Fyers greeted.

"Oh good, small talk. Are we going to get on with this?" Slade replied sarcastically.

"As you wish, straight to business then. The circuit board, where is it?" Fyers demanded.

"Somewhere safe, so get us to the boat and we'll tell you where it is," Oliver answered.

"And of course, you'll be honest about its location," Fyers commented.

"Well I wouldn't be but this one's got some strange hang up about principles and integrity," Slade supplied.

"I always imagined as much. Which is why I want to make a counter proposal. Men!" Fyers shouted.

Then two of Fyers' men came in with a beautiful Asian woman that they were forcefully pulling by the arms. She struggled to get free but couldn't get away from her captives. Victoria watched as Yao Fei looked over at the young woman and his eyes widened. "No! No!" Yao Fei exclaimed. Then he got knocked hard with a gun to his stomach.

"You will deliver the circuit board back to me or I'll kill Yao Fei's daughter," Fyers declared.

"So, this is the reason why you didn't leave," Oliver said with understanding to Yao Fei.

To which Yao Fei shook his head in affirmation.

"I imagine you don't want the death of an innocent young woman on your hands. What with your principles."

Slade held out his gun towards Fyers' head, "Let the girl go!"

"No deal? Very well, kill her!" Fyers ordered.

Just then Shado started to fight the men holding her. One, she sideswiped and he landed flat on his back on the ground. She seemed to be skilled in fighting. Slade, Oliver, Victoria and Yao Fei fought off the man closest towards them. Shado grabbed Fyers' throat with her hand and wrapped her legs around his head and punched him until he was knocked out.

Shado walked passed Slade as he declared, "Well that was unexpected."

"Slade!" Victoria cried out.

Gun shots were sounding behind them as they all stayed closer to one another, moving as fast as they could. As they ran, Yao Fei got shot in the leg and cried out in pain. Oliver tried to get him back on his feet. It didn't last long before Yao Fei tripped and Oliver and Shado joined him on the ground. Slade and Victoria fired with guns behind them.

"You take her to safety now!" Yao Fei shouted to Oliver.

She looked at her father in shock and shook her head.

"I will only slow you down, go now!" he insisted.

"No!" Shado exclaimed.

"Shado go! Go! Go!"

Oliver pulled her from the ground and they continued upon their way. Slade and Victoria knelt beside Yao Fei with guns blazing.

Oliver and Victoria kept Shado going as Slade covered behind them.

#

It was dark then they made it to the hiding place they had left the circuit board. _Well the bastard two timed us but at least we still have the circuit board._ Victoria thought with relief.

Oliver was looking around and looked up Slade and Victoria in concern, "Slade, Victoria, the circuit board is gone."

Slade's face went from a smile to one of dread within seconds. He moved passed Oliver and looked it over multiple times. Finally, after his fifth time looking Victoria grabbed his arm. "Slade, Slade stop it! It's not there!" Victoria exclaimed.

"Damn it! Fyers played us. While he was screwing us around his men were combing the woods for it." Then he grabbed Oliver by the collar, "now his missile launcher is fully operational!"

"He was never going to let us get off this island, I get it!" Oliver shouted, trying to pull away from Slade's grip.

"Of course, he wasn't going to help you. He couldn't chance you going to the mainland and messing with his plans," Shado spoke up.

"She speaks English," Oliver remarked.

"Thanks genius, didn't get that," Victoria mumbled.

"None of us know what his plans are," Oliver continued, pretending not to hear his sister.

"I do," Shado declared.

Victoria, Slade and Oliver shared a look. It was about time they figured out what Fyers was planning.

* * *

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	10. Chapter 10

****I want to thank each and everyone one of you that have followed, favorited and/or just reading this story right now. I have gotten more support for this story then I ever thought possible. You guys are amazing! And I want to thank my beta Mrs. Thor Odinson, thanks! And I have updated chapter 8. Basically I just changed the order of Slade's kids because I was incorrect in the order I had them. This was one of my favorite chapters to write.****

* * *

 **The Other Queen – 10**

 **Lian Yu 2007**

Oliver and Victoria watched as Slade and Shado were trying out their fighting skills. Both were incredible good and knew what they were doing. Slade asked Shado to show him how to do one of her moves and she asked him where he had hidden his knife. Victoria watched them closely, her jaw tightened at the sight of them. _Why was she upset? Why was Slade talking to this girl making the need for her to punch something or someone in the face? Was she jealous?... No, that was crazy, that would mean she would have to have feelings for the huge Australian man… But she did and now was going to lose any chance because no matter how good she got in the next few weeks she would become, she would never be as skilled of a fighter as Shado. And why would he even look at her now that Shado, the exotic beautiful Asian woman, was now here. She didn't even stand a chance._ Looking at Shado closely, she was everything Victoria wasn't. _How could Slade not want Shado?_

"Hey Toria, want to give it a go?" Slade asked, breaking her from her thoughts.

"Toria? That's a new one," Victoria remarked with a small chuckle.

"Have a better one?"

"No, it works. Just never heard it before."

"What other nicknames do you have?" Slade asked amused.

With a smile, Victoria recollected of her family and their different names for her, "Well my dad and mom use to call me Tori, till I wanted them to stop using it. I would catch dad still calling me that though. He never really got over using it. Oliver would call me different nicknames but none of them stuck."

"Well to me you don't look like a Tori or Vicky. So, I think I'll stick with Toria if you don't mind, sweetheart?"

"Yeah, sure," Victoria replied with a giant grin.

"So, Toria… Care to give it a go?"

"Well it's all great how badass you three are but shouldn't we come up with a new plan to stop Fyers and I don't know, save Yao Fei?" Oliver asked/whined.

"Does he always whine this much?" Shado asked, teasingly.

"This is one of his good days," Slade supplied.

"Think this is bad? You should have lived with him for 21 years," Victoria remarked.

"Does he fight?" Shado asked, eyeing Oliver up and down.

"Tried that, didn't work out too well," Slade explained.

"Sitting right here," Oliver pointed out.

"Well I haven't tried it yet," Shado stated with a raise of her brow.

"Oh fuck, my birthday is tomorrow," Victoria exclaimed.

"Really? Tomorrow is your birthday?" Slade asked with a grin.

"Yeah. Not really the big legal drinking party I planned but heck, at least I made it to another birthday," Victoria stated sarcastically.

"Yeah it's not like she hasn't ever gotten drunk before," Oliver mumbled, loud enough for Victoria to hear.

Victoria sent him a silent glare as turned in Slade's direction as he chuckled and said,

"We should try to do something special. You don't turn 21 every day."

"Thanks," Victoria said, hiding a blush.

"Don't mention it," Slade answered with a smirk.

Victoria stretched a bit and stepped forward to fight Slade. Leading with a fake kick as her knuckle tried to punch Slade's side. He was caught off guard with the attack but recovered quickly and sideswiped her with one of his feet, causing her to lose balance. She quickly went into a defensive position as she got up off the ground. Slade hide a grin as he watched her go into the position, proud that he had taught her well. They spared for a while before Victoria was flat on her back and Slade gently had his knife placed on her neck, he had a smile on face. She glared up at him until he pulled away the knife, placed it in his boot, and offered her a hand up. Her glare turned to one of only annoyance and she allowed him to help her to her feet once more. _She wasn't as amazing a fighter as Shado but she was at least able to hold her own._ She thought with pride.

"Not bad," Shado commented to her.

"Thanks," Victoria replied with a semi smile.

"If you want, I could show you a few more moves. Help you improve the ones you have, that sort of thing," Shado offered.

Victoria eyed her with caution. _But hell, what was it going to hurt to have a few more skills and to improve the ones she already_ _had? Didn't mean she had to like her._ "Thanks."

"No problem."

#

Days later, Oliver was sitting at a table as Shado filled up a bowl with water in front of him.

"Hold out your hand," Shado commanded Oliver.

He held out his hand for her to see.

"Palm facing me," Shado corrected. "Slap the water."

"What?" Oliver asked in confusion.

"Hit it!" Shado exclaimed.

Oliver simple slapped the water and turned his head with a quizzically face towards Shado.

"Again," Shado said.

Oliver hit it once more. Victoria was standing and watching Oliver hit the water with a smirk upon her face.

"Hit it again, harder!" Shado declared.

"If the point of this is to make me feel like an idiot, it's working."

"Don't worry, you look like an idiot as well," Victoria teased.

"Not helping," Oliver replied with a glare.

"A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step," Shado remarked, her voice laced with wisdom.

"Great, starting to see the family resemblance," Oliver deadpanned.

"Again!" Shado said with a stern face.

Oliver slapped the water again with an annoyed look on his face.

"Now what?" Oliver asked as the water was too low in the bowl to slap anymore.

"Fill the bowl, start again," Shado explained.

#

While Oliver continued to slap the water Shado went over to Victoria. Victoria was sitting down near the fire pit looking at the picture with her and Thea.

"I'm sure you'll get back to your sister soon," Shado reassured Victoria. "I have a twin sister her name is Mei."

"Do you miss her?"

"Every day. Right now, we need to continue to get stronger. Slade tells me you are very good at high kicks. Why don't we work on some sideswipes?"

"Sure, why not? It's not like there is something better to do."

Shado showed Victoria different moves. Some Victoria picked up easily, others it took a few times before she was doing them the right way. Over all though Victoria improved not only her skills but started to respect her new teacher. Maybe she didn't like the idea of the Asian woman taking Slade away but she couldn't deny that Shado was a very patient and kind instructor. When they were done and just talking she realized that besides the fact that Shado was a better fighter than her they had a lot in common and we able to enjoying talking about karate with passion.

 **#**

It was getting late when Victoria was waiting for Slade to come with dinner and Oliver was still slapping the water in the bowl. _I wonder if Slade will be impressed by the new skills I have learn?_ She thought. _Of course, he'll probably added it all up to Shado's amazing teaching._ The thought made her jaw set and she could feel it in pain from how hard she was grinding her teeth. _Damn it Queen, get a hold of yourself. If he likes her you'll just have to deal with it. Stop being a little whinnying baby._ She berated herself. Just then Slade came in with a bunch of birds tied up.

"Dinner! And you're still doing that. He should be careful with all those bowls of water," Slade commented sarcastically.

"When are we actually going to get to the real training? Like Victoria gets to do," Oliver asked/whined to Shado.

"There once was a young boy whose father dropped him off at a monastery to learn Kung Fu," Shado started.

"Oh good, a story," Oliver mumbled.

"After a year, the boy went to visit his family. When asked what the boy had learned, he hung his head in shame and replied that all the monk's made him do was slap water in a barrel for a year," Shado continued, while pretending not to have heard Oliver.

"Well we don't have a year," Slade pointed out. "So, let's hope your training goes faster."

"The family didn't believe him. So, he showed them. He raised his hand and hit the table they were eating on, it broke in half," Shado finished the story.

"I'll be able to break a table?" Oliver asked in confusion.

"Yeah, exciting," Victoria mumbled to Slade.

To which he answered with a chuckle and a small grin upon his face, "I wonder how many of those he'll have to take down in Fyers' camp?"

"Better," Shado answered Oliver, handing him the bow. "Draw the bow."

Oliver did it without trouble. His face turned to one of awe and wonder and he gave Shado a look of gratitude and amazement.

"I'll be damned," Slade remarked with a smile.

"Wow," Victoria said under her breath.

"What's next?" Oliver asked, his voice filled with awe and respect.

"We teach you how to shoot," Shado replied with a small satisfied smile.

#

Shado, Victoria and Slade were looking at maps and trying to come up with a plan when Oliver walked into the wrecked plane.

"Rescuing your father and stopping Fyers isn't going to be a walk in the park. They aren't just going to allow us to stroll into their camp," Slade said to Shado.

"Which is why we will need cover," Shado replied seriously.

"The three of us are going to infuriating, who is going to provided us with cover?"

"He will," Shado declared while looking at Oliver.

"Me?" he questioned, gesturing to himself with his hand.

Slade started to laugh, "The assault rifle is flushed, it's useless."

"We have a bow, arrows," Shado replied raising to her full height, while staring daggers into Slade.

"And no one capable to shot them. No offense, kid."

"No, I was going to say the same thing," Oliver said.

"Well, that planning isn't going to work then," Victoria explained.

"I think we should spend our time trying to devise a plan, not lower our already slim chance of survival," Slade suggested.

"He will hit his mark before sundown. If not, we'll do it your way," Shado compromised.

She walked over to Oliver and held out her hand, to which he took and they both walked out of the camp together.

"Now, we should come up with some sort of back-up plan," Shado said to Victoria.

"I agree but we should wait until we figure out if Oliver will actually be able to use that bow."

"I suppose you're right. I doubt he'll be able to though," Slade replied with a frown.

#

Victoria was sitting by the fire when Slade came in with a medium sized bird that would serve as their lunch. Victoria took the bird from him and went straight to plucking out its feathers. Slade was silently studying and smiling as he watched her blow hair away from her mouth and eyes. If he was being completely honest with himself, he would admit he thought she looked pretty with her hair in her face and concentrating.

"What?" she asked as he chuckled in contentment.

"Nothing," he lied.

"I wanted to ask you. You said what your sons names were but I haven't heard your daughter's name," Victoria brought up.

"Her name is Rose. She is named after my mother, she died the year my daughter was born."

"Oh, I see. Well it's a beautiful name. Was it your idea to name her after your mom or was it your wife's?"

"Mine. I had always been really close to my mom, figured I'd name a daughter after her."

"That's very sweet. It's great that you both were close. I don't think I would ever want to name a daughter after my own mother."

"Yeah, from the sounds of it, it doesn't sound like you two are very close."

"Not really," Victoria agreed. "I was always closer to my dad."

Moments passed in silence between them, before Slade sat down next to Victoria by the fire. She handed him the skinned bird, to which he placed in the middle of a log that they would put over the fire to cook the meat.

"Where did you learn to skin meat so well?" Slade asked her in nothing more than a whisper.

"My father would take me camping and sometimes he would hunt for our food. I think I was nine the first time I skinned a dear," Victoria stated proudly.

"Wow, he started you out on a large animal," Slade replied with a chuckle.

"Well he thought if I started big the smaller ones would become easier," Victoria between her own laugh.

Slade chuckled and they continued to work in silence. Slade didn't say a word when he noticed that as they watched the meat cook Victoria seemed to lean closer towards him.

After they ate Victoria was washing her hands and she nearly jumped out of her skin when she saw Slade sneaking up behind her. "Jesus!" she exclaimed. _How is a large man like him able to move so silently?_

"Sorry, didn't mean to scare you," he apologized.

She moved out of the way and allowed him to wash his hands.

"Lunch was wonderful as usual," Slade commented.

"Thank you. It's nice to know I am still useful for something," Victoria mumbled under her breath, unaware that Slade heard her.

"Is something wrong?" Slade asked in concern.

"That's just the problem, one minute I think we are doing fine, the next you are acting all weird around me. What's wrong?"

"Why does it matter so much to you?" Victoria asked with annoyance.

"Because I want to understand."

She took a moment to collect her thoughts before answering, "I am just scared about what's going to happen to all of us. If or when we get off this island, I don't know if I will still be the person I was or will if my family will accept who I am now. I don't think I can go back to the life I had after this. This, what we have here on this island, it's not ideal but it's more of a family to me than my own felt some days."

"You aren't the same as you were but that's not a bad thing. People change, you've grown and become different from this island. I am sure your family will love you no matter what has happened to you. That sister of yours I think is waiting at home, wishing she knew how you were. Don't be afraid of the unknown, I know that's a hard thing to do. You need to have some faith."

"But how am I going to do that?" Victoria asked looking down at the ground.

"I don't know how but we can't just stay because we are more scared of what's waiting for us at home." Slade stood in front of her and gently lifted her chin so she was looking him in the eye. "You'll always have me around if you need me," he whispered.

Victoria felt herself being pulled toward him and he closed the remaining space between them. Lips melted into lips. Victoria placed one hand on the place just above his heart, while the other hand tangled into his soft dark hair. Slade's right hand cupped her face as his left hand lingered on the small of her back. With reluctance, Slade pulled away from the kiss and placed his forehead on hers. She looked up at him with confusion and he could feel her trembling in his arms.

"Well that was unexpected," Victoria whispered.

Slade placed his lips on hers once more. He slowly kissed her lips and then traveled across her cheeks, Victoria gasped when his lips gently trailed kisses down her neck. She could feel the stubble on his jaw against the skin upon her neck and the slight sting that sent shivers down her spine. He made his way back to her mouth and kissed her with passion and longing. His tongue danced across her lips, she opened and immediately felt his tongue explore her mouth. She griped his shoulders and felt as his arms wrapped around her waist. His need for air was what finally pulled him away. He looked down at her in awe and desire, placing a chaste kiss upon her lips. When he looked at her once more he could see how beautiful she looked out of breath and he cupped her cheek. She tangled one of her fingers in his dark locks as the other one gently felt the stubble growing on his cheek. This time she was the one to place a quick kiss upon his lips. He sighed in contentment as she placed her head upon his chest. She listened to the sound of his heart as Slade slowly pulled them out of their romantic moment and noticed it was almost sundown. Sundown, was Oliver ready for the upcoming battle yet? Victoria tried not to be disappointed when Slade ended up disentangled them and he put the smallest bit of distance between them.

"Um, I… I've got to see what progress Oliver is making with that bow," he explained fumbling over his words a bit.

She nodded her head in understand and watched him walk out of their camp. Wondering if he was going through the last moment in his mind as much as she was? _Slade Wilson had just kissed her on the mouth, hell they had been making out. How in the hell had that happened? One minute she was jealous because of Shado, the next he was kissing her._

A smile formed on Victoria's face that couldn't seem to wipe off her face as she found herself looking in the direction that Slade had disappeared into. The kiss might have been unexpected but in no way unwanted. _But now things are complicated between you two,_ a voice, that strangely sounded like her mother, mocking. She forced the voice out of her head, perhaps things would be difficult between them but she was choosing to enjoy this moment. It wasn't like she got many of them on this island.

#

Slade walked out of the camp, more than once he found himself looking back towards the wrecked plane. _Well that kiss in so many ways but he didn't regret it. So much for keeping his distance from her. Who knew what would happen when they got off this island, if they got off the island._ He smiled as he thought about how wonderful she had tasted and he loved how it felt holding her. _You can't give her what she needs,_ the voice of self-doubt brought into his mind. He shook the thought away. She had kissed him back, had wanted him back. His mind kept replaying that look of desire that had played upon her face when he had looked at her. She wanted him as much as he wanted her and right now that was all that mattered. _They would figure out the other things later._


	11. Chapter 11

**I want to thank each and every-one who has favorited, followed my story, special thanks to reviewers** longstreet **, jamesaubrey 41, orthankg 1, Erudessa-gabrielle and of course my amazing Guest reviewers. And to my helpful beta Mrs. Thor Odinson. You have helped so much with my stories and I'm very grateful for all of it.**

* * *

The Other Queen – 11

Chapter 11

 **Lian Yu 2007**

As Slade walked towards Shado and Oliver he noticed that they were very close and then they were kissing. Slowly he turned around and pretended like he hadn't seen anything. He chuckled under his breath. _This island was getting to everyone it would seem. First him kissing Victoria, now Oliver kissing Shado._

He made his way back to the plane and saw Victoria standing with her back turned. Then she was gathering firewood and adding a few more logs into the dying embers. When she turned around and saw him a smile seemed to effortlessly form across her face. A smile of his own graced his own face and he noticed she still had a blush spread across her cheeks.

"Need some help?" he asked her.

"Yeah, sure," she replied with a coy smile.

He grabbed some firewood from the pile on the ground and added to the fire-pit. They worked in silence for a few minutes before Victoria broke it, "So how is Oliver's marksmanship?"

"Hmm? What?" Slade asked confused.

"You said you were going to go see how Oliver was coming along," she commented simply.

"Oh, yeah. Alright I guess."

"That answer sounds very vague," Victoria joked with a teasing grin.

He rolled his eyes at her and changed the subject, "I think after we are done with the fire we should sharpen our swords. It's been too quiet lately, I figure Fyers is getting ready as we speak."

So, when they finished taking care of the fire Slade handed Victoria her sword as he sharpened his own. Both worked in silence wondering if the other was going to say something or not. They were still at it when Shado and Oliver returned.

"So, how did Oliver do? As expected?" Slade asked.

Shado nodded her head in confirmation.

"Then I guess it's back to the drawing board," Slade remarked with a scowl.

Just then there was a rustle through some leaves somewhere in the background and everyone became alert within seconds. Slade and Victoria griped tighter the swords in their hands as Shado grabbed her knife. Yao Fei walked into the wreckage with a serious face that neither Slade nor Victoria could read. They shot each other a look and decided silently that they weren't going to be putting their guard down.

"Yao Fei!" Oliver shouted with surprise.

Shado rushed to her father and wrapped him into an embrace. Victoria, Slade and Oliver watched as Yao Fei didn't seem happy or relieved that he was there and he didn't even wrap an arm around his daughter. _Something was wrong,_ Slade and Victoria thought as the same time.

"How did you escape?" Slade demanded.

"I didn't," Yao Fei replied.

At least six armed soldiers rushed into their camp and surrounded them.

"You son-of-a-bitch!" Slade exclaimed as he moved to attack Yao Fei.

He was quickly knocked out by one of the soldiers.

"Hey! Get away from him!" Victoria shouted as she rushed to be beside Slade.

She didn't make it to him as another soldier held her back and had a grip on her that was too strong to break, though she tried. She tried to elbow the soldier in the gut but he held on to her arm tighter. "That's enough of that," the soldier growled at her as she continued to get out of his grasp.

"Your time on the island is at an end," Yao Fei declared.

#

Shado was next to Oliver and Slade was next to Victoria as they were being held at gunpoint in the back of a large jeep. Slowly the terrain pasted by them as they made their way to a giant clearing a few miles away. From where they where they could just barely make out what appeared to be Fyers' camp.

"Toria, are you alright?" Slade asked in concern, his voice no more than a whisper.

"I'm doing fine. What about you?"

"I've been better."

"Yeah, tell me about it."

Looking around Victoria saw they were almost to the camp. Slowly she took a deep breath and leaned a little closer to Slade. _If this was the end she rather be beside him,_ she thought. That thought however didn't stop her from shaking in fear. _What the hell are they going to do to us all? Breath, just breath. You aren't responsible for what's going to happen. Damn girl, get it together!_ she berated herself.

Suddenly they came to a complete stop and the soldiers started to forcefully drag them around. They were all brought into Fyers' main tent. Yao Fei simply stood straight, appearing to wait for their arrival. Oliver's eyes widened when he saw the same man in the cave that had begged for his help sitting at some sort of controls.

"You," Oliver whispered as he rushed forward towards him.

Forcefully he was pulled back, "Save it! We don't have the luxury in indulging in vendettas," Slade warned.

"Baba," Shado said in confusion to her father.

"Shado," Yao Fei replied seriously.

"You lead Fyers right to our camp, you coward!" Slade shouted at Yao Fei in angry.

"Fyers was about to blow up the entire forest just to eliminate you. This way you all have a chance," Yao Fei explained.

"Pray I don't get the chance to repay your mercy," Slade replied.

"Slade," Victoria warned with a shake of her head.

Slade shut his mouth but continued to glare at Yao Fei and stood as close to Victoria as possible. _Like hell I'm going to let them touch her,_ he thought _._

Fyers came into the tent, "How fitting, everyone reunited for the end."

"For the end of what?!" Oliver asked angrily. "What is all of this for?"

A voice was speaking into the radio controls that 'Allen' from the cave now sat in front of. The plane was on its way to Hong Kong and 'Allen' was giving them a route change, making it so they would fly right above the island. _What the hell?! What is their plan?_ Victoria thought.

"That's a commercial airliner Fyers, it's not like it can land here," Oliver taunted.

"It wouldn't be landing anywhere, Mister Queen we're going to destroy it," Fyers explained with a smug smirk.

"This doesn't make any sense, why do you want to blow up a plane?" Oliver asked/shouted.

Fyers calmly walked closer to him and looked at him pointedly, "When the New York stock exchange reopened after 9/11 the Down Jones dropped leaving 600 and 85 points. Can you imagine what would happen to China, the world's second largest economy, if air travel in and out of China was grounded indefinitely?"

 _It's all starting to make more sense,_ Victoria thought before Slade said with understanding, "You want to destabilize China's economy."

"It's not what I want, rather my employer. We have enough missiles here to shoot down any aircraft approaching the mainland. That will decimate China's economy, especially when it's rogue element in China's own military claims responsibility. You see how inconvenient you occasionally were, you were always more worth to me alive than dead," Fyers explained while looking at Yao Fei.

"Then you should have killed me, because I won't do it," Yao Fei replied firmly.

"Really?" Fyers asked, seemingly amused and he turned around.

First, he quickly punched Oliver in the face, shot Victoria in her right shoulder, Slade through his leg and finally he shot Shado in the left shoulder.

"Shado!" Yao Fei exclaimed as he rushed to his daughter.

"I said I need you alive but I can kill everyone you care about," Fyers warned holding the gun up to Shado's head.

"Stop! I'll do it!" Yao Fei yielded.

"I knew your good judgment could be counted on. Come along now, we need to get you back into your military uniform."

Slade was slowly trying to get to a sitting position while Fyers pointed his gun towards him. Victoria was lying on the floor between Slade and Oliver, glaring at Fyers with pure hate as Oliver sat dumbfounded beside her. _He'll pay for this,_ she thought. Looking over at Slade she could tell he was in pain but was trying not to show any weakness in front of their enemy. _Now what are we going to do?_ Slowly Yao Fei began to get up and without anyone else noticing he handed Oliver a small knife. He helped Shado get into more of a sitting position and said something to her that only they could understand. And then he was forcefully pulled up to stand by one of Fyers' men.

Fyers walked out of the tent and dialed a number to his employer, "It's happening."

"Understood," the voice replied.

On the other line the man shut off the phone and addressed a figure sitting at a desk with long dark legs and high heels, "That was Fyers, everything is going according to plan."

#

There was a video camera set up in the tent with Fyers watching through the lenses and paid attention to the scene to make sure it looked well.

"The uniform suits you, Yao Fei," he commented. "Anytime you're ready."

Oliver was trying to slowly and carefully undone his bounds without any of Fyers' men noticing.

"To the people of China and the citizens of the world, I make this statement voluntarily taking responsibility for the shooting of Forest air flight, 637. To protest the Republic of China's treatment of me, for betraying and abandoning me to the island of Lian Yu. Consider this my righteous delivery of vengeance." Yao Fei spoke into the camera.

Fyers stopped the recording, "Thank you."

Within seconds he pulled out his gun and shot Yao Fei right through the forehead. Oliver and Shado immediately started to yell. While Victoria just stood in shock as she watched the second man in her life was shot through the head. _This can't be happening again._

"Sir, the plane is within range," one of Fyers' men declared.

Just then a voice sounded through the walkie that sounded vaguely familiar. "The men should be a few seconds from you. Do you want me to do a double check or join them?" the voice asked Fyers.

"Double check the camp, I don't want any proof that we were there. Then I want you to join us here in the main camp," Fyers replied.

Oliver looked confused. 'Billy,' Slade mouthed. Oliver's face lite up in understanding. _So he was still alive and somewhere on this island._

#

"lock one missile onto the target," Fyers commanded.

"Missile one locked on," Allen declared.

"Prepared to launch on my mark."

Oliver shared a look with Slade, Victoria and Shado, he was almost free of his bounds. As soon as he was finished cutting the rope he went straight for Allen digging his knife into Allen's shoulder blade. He cut Victoria and Shado lose, both fighting men around them. Then he cut Slade's bounds. The scene was complete chaos.

"Fire! Fire the missile!" Fyers shouted through his talkie.

Oliver was having trouble taking down Allen when Shado came over and broke Allen's neck. They rushed outside of the tent. Oliver and Shado watched in horror as one of the missiles flew out of the launcher. Shado and Oliver rushed towards the missile launcher as Slade and Victoria covered them. There was heavy firing going on as Oliver tried to make his way to the launcher.

"Go kid!" Slade shouted as he opened fire with his machine gun.

Oliver made it to the launcher as fast as his feet could carry him and took cover.

"We need to reprogram the missile," Shado explained.

"I don't know how to reprogram a missile launcher," Oliver exclaimed.

"I do," Shado declared as she pulled out a circuit board.

"Shado!"

Suddenly she was being jumped. With a few perfect kicks, she grabbed the man's gun and shot him in the head as another one rushed at her. She forcefully knocked his head into the controls and they started to move forward. The circuit board was knocked out of her hands left somewhere on the launcher as she continued to fight the soldier and they both rolled off the launcher. Oliver was left to fend for himself.

"Oliver put the chip in!" Shado shouted as the missile continued to get closer to the plane.

Oliver and the man both pulled punches to the other and Oliver managed to knock the guy off. The missile was dangerously close to the plane when Oliver put the chip into place and the missile started to head in the direction of the camp. He stopped the launcher, stepped off and took cover beside it. A few feet away stood the camp as it was blown to hell.

#

It was dark when Oliver went walking through the destroyed camp. There were small fires throughout and he saw mangled bodies that smelled of burnt flesh. He felt bile raised in his mouth but he continued to move forward to see the fate of his sister and friends. In his path was a case that had managed to be intact. He opened it and found Yao Fei's bow and his green hood. Oliver hooked an arrow and nearly jumped when he heard a deep laugh a few feet in front of him.

"I should have figured that you couldn't save the day without making a mess," Slade remarked.

Slade slowly rose and helped Victoria up as much as his injured leg allowed him. He was very stiff and had to lean on the car they had used for cover.

"Thanks," Victoria muttered to Slade in between wincing as her body pressed down on her bad shoulder.

"Victoria!" Oliver exclaimed as he rushed to give her a hug.

He pulled back when she hissed very loudly, "Sorry."

"It's good to see you too," she commented.

Then he focused his attention on Slade once more grabbing his discarded bow and arrow.

"Where is Shado?" Oliver asked in concern.

"I thought she was with you," Victoria pointed out.

Just then they heard a noise a few feet in front of them and Fyers had a gun pointed to Shado's head.

"Actually, she is with me!" Fyers declared.

"Let her go!" Victoria shouted leaning on Slade as they made their way to Oliver's side.

"It's over, Fyers!" Slade shouted beside her.

Slade's legs buckled under him and dragged down Victoria with him. Victoria tried not to blush as she landed on top of Slade. Oliver drawing his bow was what got her mind onto the present and made her forget that she was laying on the man she had feelings for.

"Let her go," Oliver growled.

"Amazing, a two-year operation undone because a young playboy happened to wash up to the shore. And now here you are, a killer. You wanted nothing more than to leave this island, now you can. I can call a rescue ship and you can go home. Tell me, Mr. Queen are you prepared to sacrifice your freedom for her?"

Fyers pushed Shado a little further away from himself and in that moment Oliver sent an arrow right through his throat. Victoria just stared as she watched the man that had brought them so much grief collapsed to the ground with blood flowing freely from his throat. _Thank God,_ she couldn't help herself from thinking. _At least Shado was safe now._

"I guess so," Oliver remarked to the now dead Fyers.

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	12. Chapter 12

**I want to thank every one of my followers, favorites and reviewers. You guys are so supportive and really make a big part of this story for me. I always want to thank my Beta Mrs. Thor Odinson. She is a big help and it's always great to have an extra pair of eyes to look over one's work.**

 **Yeah, I own Arrow…. Not! Believe me if I did Victoria would be in it and things would be a lot different ;)**

Letonlee **: Here you go the next chapter, hope you like it!**

 **Orthankg1** **: Thank you for reviewing!**

 **Erudessa-gabrielle** **: I am so glad you are enjoying it so much. Well I guess you'll just have to keep reading and find out ;)**

* * *

The Other Queen – 12

Chapter 12

 **Lian Yu 2007**

Slade and Victoria held onto Shado and Oliver tight as they made it to their camp. As soon as they were within the wrecked plane Oliver placed Victoria and Slade by the fire. Slade caught his breath and looked over at Victoria to see if she had anymore injuries.

"Are you alright?" he asked her in concern.

"Yeah, a bullet to my shoulder and I am a little stiff but I'm going to be alright," then she placed a hand on his leg only for him to hiss in pain. "Oh, did I hurt you?"

"Fyers shot me in the leg. I hadn't noticed till now how much it hurts."

Victoria inspected the bullet hole closely and winced in sympathy.

"Kid, are you the only one without a bullet hole?" Slade asked Oliver.

"Yeah, well it wasn't like I was telling Fyers to pull the trigger," Oliver replied snarkily.

"I can't believe that the rest of us got shot and you got away scot free," Victoria remarked, giving Oliver a glare.

Shado was holding her arms and looking around for something, Oliver looked at her in confusion, "What are you looking for?"

"Medical supplies, I had some experience with medicine in school. I was actually studying to be a nurse," Shado explained.

"Wow, learn something new every day," Victoria commented with a smile.

"Yeah, who knew you liked them smart, Kid," Slade joked.

Oliver looked away and Shado tried not to let them all see her blush. Victoria chuckled and Slade looked pleased with himself for making them both act like teenagers.

"Now you have to show my incapable brother how to take care of you. Don't think I didn't notice the bullet that was fired into your shoulder," Victoria said changing the subject.

"I can be seen last, first I need to tend to you both," Shado replied.

"Shado," Oliver breathed with a look of concern.

"No I first look after them then we worry about me," She declared.

Slade tried not to smile as Oliver shut up and Shado went into making sure both bullets were safely out of them. Luckily the bullet that had shot Slade's leg had gone completely through. Victoria's wound still had a bullet though and Shado had made sure the blade was sharp and cleaned it before using it to taking it out. Slade helped Shado tie Victoria's wrist down so she couldn't move.

"Let me guess, worried I'll kill you?" Victoria asked with a smirk to Slade and a wink.

"Something like that," he replied with a small smile.

Shado tried to be as gentle as she could be but the blade still was stinging and causing a sharp pain to go through all of Victoria's arm. She only tossed and turned a little, her bounds around the wrists left her little room to move, it was a good thing too. Otherwise Shado might have managed to give her a cut as well as a bullet hole. Oliver had to look away and even Slade winced as Victoria cried out in pain. Finally, Shado stopped and Victoria was left with a sharp pain that was seemingly spreading through her whole arm and she felt completely tired and spent. She shrugged her shoulder forward to relieve it of the weight but as it stiffed she winced and stood completely still.

"Carefully, Toria. That arm is going to take a while to heal," Slade warned her.

Victoria shook her head in agreement and let Shado continue to place some sort of healing palm onto her sore arm. Victoria winced as Shado brought it closer to the wound.

"Sorry, Toria," Shado said as she gently placed more on and then stepped away to survey her work. "That should work. If it doesn't feel better in two days don't be afraid to tell me. Tomorrow I should give it another look. Here," she handed her a cup filled with hot water and Yao Fei's super herbs.

"Thank you," Victoria said taking the offered cup. Shado was about to walk away when Victoria grabbed her arms, "I am so sorry about you dad, Shado."

Shado shook her head and offered a sad smile.

"Don't worry, tomorrow we will bury him," Slade commented with tight lips. No doubt going over the last ungrateful words that he had said to Yao Fei.

"He was a great man, Shado. And it doesn't matter what anyone else ever thought, everyone here knew how much of a wonderful man he was," Oliver paused and his voice seemed to crack. "If it weren't for him I wouldn't be alive today."

"Thank you, Oliver," Shado said as she took his hand in hers.

Shado looked like she was going to allow the grief to overwhelm her when Slade stiffed just a bit and hissed from the pain. She seemed to rouse herself and went straight into helping him.

Oliver just stood there admiring her till it was his turn to help her which he managed to finally do after a few almost trials and errors.

#

Victoria was lying on her side and couldn't seem to sleep. Faces, faces from home kept flying through her head. Thea, Tommy, Laurel, Sara, her mother and her best friend Abby. _Did they miss her? Would she ever see them again?_

Finally, she felt so tired that she fell into a restless sleep.

#

Victoria felt like she was drowning, water was on all sides of her. It was becoming difficult to breath when she felt strong arms grab her, pulling her out of the water and into a lifeboat. She coughed up all the water that was burning her lungs and as soon as she could take a deep breath without feeling like she was choking she was handed a life-jacket, one that she put on quickly without another thought. Looking around her she was relieved to see her father and brother still alive but looking harder she panicked when she remembered that Sara had been on The Gambit and she wasn't anywhere to be found on the lifeboat.

"Oliver, where is Sara?!" she asked

Oliver didn't reply, just simply looked up at her with a look of shock.

"She is gone," their father answered for him.

Victoria felt tears forming in her eyes. She had never been close to the youngest Lance but they had often been thrown in with each other at parties. They had always had an unspoken respect for one another. Always staying away from the guy that the other had laid claim on. It was a silly game they would play when they were drunk, who could dance with the cutest guy in the place. Having fun with their fake IDs. Victoria normally was the one who stay away from the alcohol so she would be able to drive Miss Lance home. They were friends, not close but always there for each other. Her father wrapping his arm around her brought her back to the fact that they were still on a boat with no way to get home.

"It's alright, Tori," her dad said while wiping tears off her cheeks.

"She was my friend," Victoria.

"I know, I know. You're alright. You're going to be fine. I'm going to make sure of that."

Victoria didn't even notice that he was talking to her like he would to a child, instead she held him tighter and wept as Oliver looked on with his dumbfounded stare.

It was later, Victoria felt just simply tired, tired of the ocean, tired of this helpless floating, just so damn tired. She looked over and watched as their dad searched through the food, he looked over at her and Oliver with a face she couldn't place. She offered him a smile that didn't seem to make his scowl disappear. _What's going on with dad?_

Suddenly without another look he grabbed something from his left pocket with his right hand and lifted it up to his head, it was a gun and slowly he undid the safety. Victoria felt like she was living in slow motion as her heart started beating faster. Her father simply looked at her and Oliver like he was completely calm. Besides her Oliver was freaking out and she faintly heard him yell at their father to put the gun down.

"There is only enough food for the both of you. I'm not the man you think I am," Robert simply stated.

"Come on dad, let's just sleep," Oliver pleaded.

"Dad, please just put the gun down," Victoria said as though she was talking to a spooked animal.

"You two can survive this. Make it home. Make it better. Right my wrongs but you have to live through this first," she heard her father say through the loud beating of her heart.

She reached out to do something, she couldn't just let him go, wouldn't let him go. This was her chance to save him. With one more minute of chaos she heard her father say, 'survive' before her pulled the trigger. She couldn't seem to look away as his blood splattered on his shirt and she saw the bloody hole in his head as his head jerked back. From where she sat she saw blood flowing down and she felt fresh bile rising in her throat.

"Dad!" she screamed.

"Dad!" Oliver shouted from besides her.

"Dad!" she exclaimed as she sat up.

Looking around her she saw their camp within the wrecked plane and saw Slade a few feet away from her with a look of concern on his face. She felt something wet dripping down her cheeks and on her neck, she must have been crying during her nightmare. Because you see it was a nightmare but to her it felt so real. Hell, it felt more real than the memory she had of that moment in time. Fresh tears formed in her eyes and a lump in her throat. Looking up she noticed Slade once more but now he was a step closer to her.

"Was just a… it was just a nightmare," Victoria explained with a shaky voice.

"You okay, Toria?" Slade asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine… it was… was just a dream… just a dream," she repeated the last part more to herself than to him.

Unconvinced he moved closer and knelt in front of her. He pushed away a strand of her hair and wiped the tears off her face, "You want to talk about it?"

She looked up into his eyes and saw that he was being sincere but she didn't want to mention that haunting moment right then. _There is no reason to put that load on Slade,_ she thought.

"Thanks, but I think I'll go take a walk," she said as she pushed herself off the bed.

Slade watched as she walked out of the plane and he took a deep breath when she got out of his sight. Whatever she had been dreaming had really shaken her up and he wished she would confide in him. _Best not to push her though,_ he decided. _After all trust needs to be earned_.

Victoria thought it very sweet of Slade to offer for her to get whatever was bothering her off her chest. However, it wasn't like the other sorts of nightmares that normally spook you, this had happened. For months, she had just been so focused on getting off this island and/or defeating Fyers that she had been too tired to dream. It had been weird to her because as a child she always remembered having the weirdest/coolest dreams. But now she wished for that dead tiredness that allowed her to sleep dreamlessly. Briefly, she closed her eyes and saw the lifeless eyes of her father's. She had to stop thinking about it, this wasn't calming her down at all.

Looking back behind her into the plane wreck she saw Slade headed back into bed. A smile formed on her lips. He was a great man, he made her feel special and protected. Her smile became wider when she noticed it didn't take him long to close his deep brown eyes and fell back to sleep, snoring loudly. _When had she noticed that his eyes were brown and that she liked the sound of his snoring? Who cares!_ A part of her brain exclaimed, _there was enough bad right now without questioning one of the few good things. Because caring about him was a good thing,_ she thought to herself. Or at least she hoped so.

#

It was early in the morning when Oliver, Slade, Victoria and Shado headed to where Oliver and Victoria had buried their father. Now, Oliver was the one carrying Yao Fei's limp body as they made their way towards the grave. Stopping, Victoria looked around and noticed how cloudy the sky was and she could smell the grind from the sea. She took a deep breath and knelt to the ground to collect stones to place on top of Yao Fei. Shado, Slade and Oliver helped her which made the task go faster. Before long they were finished and Victoria looked over to Shado and noticed tears silently running down her tanned cheeks. Oliver noticed as well and stood closer to her as Slade seemed to stand just a little bit closer to Victoria than usual.

"Today we honor a great man. A man that helped us all in so many ways, too many to count. If it weren't for this man, there is a chance that none of us would have made it this far," Oliver said.

"He was a strong man," Victoria spoke up.

"The bravest I ever knew," Slade added with a look of regret.

"He was a warrior and now he'll have a warrior's reward. He was a great father and loving, And I…" Shado started to choke on her words. Oliver wrapped his arms around her. "And… and I will miss you, Baba."

Victoria felt bad as Shado couldn't say another word through her tears. She silently made her way to Shado and hugged her tight. It took a minute of Shado being stiff before she wrapped her arms firmly around her. Victoria didn't complain as she felt tears make her shirt wet but simply continued hugging Shado until the Asian youth let go and returned to Oliver side. Victoria didn't notice she had tears running down her cheek until Slade came over and wiped a few off her cheeks and opened his arms wordlessly to her. Without hesitation Victoria buried her head in his chest and allowed him to just hold her. A few moments passed in silence between the couples before Oliver spoke up, "Well we all should say our goodbyes and go."

Each of them nodded their heads in understanding. Slade was the first to walk over the grave, placed his hand on the stone, spoke inaudible words and continued his walk towards the camp. Victoria went next as she knelt down and whispered, "Thank you so much for keeping us all alive. You deserved a better end, Yao Fei. You shall be missed."

Victoria continued to walk down the hill to allow Shado and Oliver more privacy, they were the two that knew Yao Fei best. She caught up with Slade and they silently made their way back to the camp.

"Hey, you go next," Oliver offered to Shado.

"No, you first," Shado waved him off.

"We'll go together," Oliver said with smile.

Shado rolled her eyes and if she had forgotten that this was her father's funeral she would have chuckled.

For a moment, they simply looked at the cold stone and Oliver just felt it wrong that two of the best men he knew were no longer part of the living.

"They both deserved so much more than this, this… this hell. Being put through things that made them chose to die for us. To have to die for their children," Oliver remarked angrily.

"Oliver," Shado hushed him, holding his face in her hands.

"It's unfair," Oliver declared.

"It never is," Shado explained. "We are the ones who do what we must to survive. And that's what our fathers gave us. We must honor their wishes and continued as we are, together."

"But how many more good people are we going to have to leave upon the way?"

"I don't have any answers, Oliver. But we must try for them."

He closed the space between them, giving her a chaste kiss and pulled away. He smiled when he opened his eyes to see she still had her eye closed and a small smile upon her face. They could do this, they had to. Her dark eyes met with his blue-green ones. He took her hand and gave the inside of her palm a kiss.

"I'm going to give you a minute," Oliver explained as he walked away.

She half wanted to not be left alone. But decided she needed a proper goodbye for her dear Baba. For a few moments, all she could do was stare at the sharp, cold stone that laid upon her father's body.

"Baba, I'm afraid… I'm afraid I won't be able to do this without you. You were always there for me and then you were not… And I just don't know how… I don't know if I can be as strong as they all need me to be. I mean look at me, I'm crying like a child. I didn't cry when I broke my arm at eleven," she said with a chuckle. "Baba, I love you. God, I love you so much. I wish… I'm sorry I wasn't able to save you, I wanted to save you."

She took a deep breath and let her forehead rest in front of the grave. Tears still rolling down her cheeks. After a few moments of silence, she sat up, wiped her eyes and held her head high. He father would have wanted her to be strong, she needed to be strong. When she stood up she felt a little off balanced until she righted herself, looking ahead she saw Oliver waiting for her at the foot of the hill, she smiled at his kindness. She kissed her hand and placed it on the stone that was closest to where her father's face would have been and walk towards Oliver.

He held his hand out to her to which she gladly took and they headed towards their camp. She looked up and saw that he was already looking at her with a sad smile and he squeezed her tenderly. _They could do this. They just had to stick together._

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	13. Chapter 13

**Hey Guys I know I normally update on Wednesday but I've been very busy. Life has gotten crazy. One of my grandparents died and classes and life. The reason I've been able to post as many chapters as I have recently is because I pre wrote some chapters. But luckily ideas are still flowing for this story so don't worry I will continue to update.**

 **And as always I want to thank every one of my readers from the bottom of my heart. I started this story for my own enjoyment and you guys just have shown so much support and positivity. And to my Beta Mrs. Thor Odinson.**

 **I don't own Arrow.**

 **Letonlee** **: You're welcome! I also love getting a shout out from authors when I review stories. So I figured I'd do it too because I enjoy it so much! I'm so glad you liked chapter 12. I hope you'll like chapter 13.**

 **Orthankg1** **: Thanks! And you are very nice for reviewing! ;) Hope you like this chapter as well!**

* * *

The Other Queen – 13

Chapter 13

 **Lian Yu 2007**

It was early in the morning when Victoria's nightmares awoke her from her sleep. She was outside doing some warm ups when she heard footsteps from behind her. Instinctually she pulled out her pocket knife and waited to meet her intruder head on. When she turned around she saw that the intruder was no other than Slade Wilson standing a foot in front of her.

"Easy Toria, it's only me," he reassured her, raising his hands up in the air.

Carefully she put her knife back into place and pocketed it once more. With a smile, she continued to do different warm ups as Slade watched in amusement. Silently he made note of how feminine she looked with her wide hips and breasts that swelled out, giving her a petite hourglass figure. He tried to not openly stare at her but instead decided to break the silence between them.

"If it makes you feel any better your reaction time has gotten a lot better these last few months," Slade praised her.

"Is that so?' Victoria asked coyly.

Slade chuckled and decided it would be a good time as any to start his daily stretches as well. Victoria tried to focus all her attention to her own as not to be distracted by her companion. She managed to be doing fine till she had finished and she happened to notice how he was flexing his arm muscles, making sure that he wouldn't cause any unneeded injures to himself. She really loved the fact that his arms were large and his shoulders were huge as opposed to his small waist. Making up her mind that it was the best figure a man could have. Victoria tried to look away before he caught her but one more look to Slade she noticed that he had a giant grin and that he had indeed caught her checking him out.

"Like what you see, Toria?" Slade asked with a teasing smile.

Victoria hide a blush and continued to act as though she was warming up until she felt all her muscles relax. After she got into a position to run. Her goal was to run a solid mile and return with enough time for breakfast. She was about to take off when she felt a presence besides her and she fought a smile when she noticed it was Slade.

"Mind if I join you?" Slade asked. _In his usual sexy accent,_ Victoria noted.

"Sure," Victoria replied with a smile.

Slade flashed her a winning smile and without another word started to run ahead of her with speed. He chuckled as he looked over his shoulder to see her with a shocked/annoyed face as she raced after him. He firmly believed she looked the cutest when she was annoyed and continued at a fast pace to stay ahead of her in their little unspoken race.

Victoria smiled as she was catching up to her racing companion. She loved the feel of the humid air rushing across her face and smelling the lingering rain that cling to the trees. _It feels so good to be alive,_ she thought as she rushed past the trees swiftly and felt the tall grass beneath her feet. Ahead of her Slade still was racing in front of her but turned his head towards her and she swore she heard him let out a small chuckle before focusing on his path once more.

Finally, they had been running for a while when they saw their camp nearing in the distance when Victoria's luck seemed to turn and she was closing the distance between herself and Slade. The two ran hard watching the other when Slade ran into the wreckage before Victoria but only by a few inches. Both were breathing hard and doubled over, placing their hands on their knees.

"That… that was the best run I've had in a long time," Slade remarked when he had managed to catch some of his breath.

"What were you two running a marathon?" Oliver asked clearly annoyed.

"I wouldn't call it that, more like a friendly race," Slade corrected.

Victoria rolled her eyes and playfully pushed Slade's arm, "You're just happy I went easy on you."

Slade replied with a full belly laugh, that in turned made Victoria smile from ear-to-ear. Without thinking he placed a strong arm around her waist and hugged her to his side. Neither really seemed to notice the romantic gesture until Oliver looked away as to give them some space. Victoria was disappointed when Slade's warmth left her side and he continued more into the camp, leaving her by the entrance. She closely watched his face and was relieved when she didn't see a face of discontent only some sort of indescribable face. _Gosh, why did men have to be so confusing?_ she thought with annoyance. Looking over at Shado she noticed the Asian woman eyeing the two of them from where she was starting the fire and saw that she was smiling. _So, must not be a bad face that Slade was making_ , Victoria reasoned.

Heading to the fire, she helped Shado place dry logs onto the fire and got a nice fire burning as Slade brought over the two small animals that he had caught for their breakfast the night before. It was routine by now and it didn't bother her one bit. It was strange how much things could change in a matter of months. Shado also help clean the birds and they placed them on a long stick for Oliver to place across the fire and turned it so that it would evenly be cooked. Victoria smiled when she thought of how her vegetarian nineteen-year-old self would have been disgusted by the way she ate meat every single day for every single meal here on the island. How life had changed for her in so many ways.

"What are you smiling about?" Slade asked as he heard her laugh.

"I was just thinking of how the vegetarian me would have been applauded by the fact I eat meat 24/7 here," Victoria replied honestly.

"You were a vegetarian?" Shado remarked.

"Why did you decided to do that?" Slade asked curiously.

"I didn't like the fact I was eating some sort of thing that was once truly alive. I don't know, it made me uncomfortable that I was eating a cow or a pig or a chicken. It was easy for a while I loved so many things with cheese like pizza and different creamy sauces with my pasta. I went four straight months before I couldn't take it anymore and had to have a hamburger. They have always been my weakness. You want to be on my good side just get me a Big Belly Burger," Victoria explained. "Have you ever had a Big Belly Burger, Slade?"

"Can't say that I have."

"Well that's the first place we are going when we get home. It's amazing the mixture of complete unhealthiness and how amazingly delicious it is."

Slade out right laughed at this statement and silently made note to get her a Big Belly Burger if/when they ever made if off this island. He watched her with interest when she stopped laughing and a frown spread across. _What's wrong?_ he longed to ask her. She saw his concern face and forced a smile in his direction. He huffed with annoyance, wishing she'd cut the crap and tell him what was up, or at least feel comfortable enough to just look upset around him. He wasn't the kind of guy that teased someone when they were genuinely unhappy about something. But he returned her fake smile for one of his own.

He sat in silence as Oliver chuckled and talked to Shado. It didn't take a lot to notice that the kid had a thing for the Asian beauty. He just prayed it wouldn't end up like Oliver's last relationship, last thing they needed was a romance drama while they were stuck on this island. He couldn't help but chuckle when he saw Shado grin big at something Oliver said. _Yeah hopefully the kid doesn't mess something up. They kind of look cute together._ Of course, he'd never admit it to Oliver or Shado though. _Let them think I disapprove for a while longer. Makes things more interesting._

#

Days passed slowly, Victoria noticed how much slower after the threat of Fyers was no longer hanging over their heads. They had managed to get a few useful items from Fyers camp here and there. And Slade and Shado were busy training Oliver. Victoria thought it was kind of useless but enjoyed watching her Australian knock her brother on his ass.

It was early afternoon one day when Victoria had finish her morning exercises and was sitting with Shado eating their lunch together. While Slade continued to show Oliver how to build up muscle. He had pulled off his shirt and was doing some pullups on 'the bar' as Victoria had given to calling it. Victoria had to admit she enjoyed when she saw just how muscular Slade looked. He had defined pectorals and had strong, defined biceps. Everything about him just screamed male and she was coming to terms with the fact that she desired him.

"I'm about to head to Fyers' camp if you want to join me?" Shado asked pulling Victoria from her thoughts.

"What?"

Shado chuckled when she realized what Victoria had been paying more attention to.

"I am going to Fyers' camp, do you want join me?" Shado repeated.

"Nah, Slade was going to show me a few new moves," Victoria replied.

Shado chuckled and smiled with amusement at Victoria's response. Of course, Slade would be the reason she couldn't go. At least Victoria was predictable.

#

Carefully, Shado walked through Fyers camp, it was mostly covered in ash and it still smell like everything was burnt. She made it to a not so badly cooked tent and looked inside to see if anything could be saved. Slowly she looked through creates and found a proximity detector. She smiled to see that it only required a few minor adjustments and adding a few parts and it would be ready for use. She and Oliver could fix it up in no time. Her face spread effortlessly into a smile at the thought of the playboy millionaire, he wasn't the strongest or bravest man she had ever known but he had a big heart. One she hoped would grow in time. This island was changing him, she could see it. By now she had heard enough stories from Victoria to know that he wasn't as always caring or as loyal as he was now. But people grew up, learned lessons, matured. And she could clearly see it was changing for the better in the case of Oliver Queen.

She had noticed the growing romance with Slade and Victoria, very glad for them, that they had found someone to care for on this island. She wondered if/when they got off this island what it would mean for them. It wasn't a real secret that Slade loved Victoria, it just glowed on his face. But she highly doubted he had told her yet. _Men and their damn pride,_ she thought with a chuckle.

So, she torn her thoughts away from the others and continued to search the camp. After a while she found a few supplies that she placed in the pockets of her green, leather hood that her father use to wear. It was oddly comforting to her to wear it, given the fact that it had belonged to her dear Baba, like she was carrying a piece of him with her. Not wanting to dwell on melancholy thoughts and searched yet another tent in the camp. She found nothing usefully and was thinking she should head back before the others got worried. Checking to make sure all her finds were still in her pockets she started heading to the camp.

As she was walking through the destroyed camp she knew that she should feel at least a little bit sorry for the bastards that had captured her and her friends but she couldn't find it within herself to feel sorry. They had done horrible things to them and now they were dead because of it. Maybe that made her heartless but she couldn't spend all her time worrying about the fact that the assholes had died. Someone was going to have to make it out of that battle alive and she had been glad that it was her and her friends. For a minute her thoughts wondered to Fyers unbidden, he had called the order to kidnap her, the one who had shot her baba in the head. Her jaw tightened at the thought. If Oliver had spared him she was sure she would have killed him very slowly. Maybe it was good that he had then, she wouldn't want to lose her humanity over that worthless piece of shit. _Breath,_ she reminded herself. Her father wouldn't have wanted her to get caught up in her thoughts of revenge. " _Everything breath,"_ she could hear her father's voice saying. A bittersweet smile appeared on her face and she felt her eyes start to water. Pinching the bridge of her nose, not wanting to cry.

She continued into the woods and slowly took in a deep breath of the fresh air, the air damp and cold from the showers the night before. _Life wasn't so bad,_ she thought with contentment. Just then a hand covered her mouth and she was pushed up against a firm body. Her brain started to panic and she fought to get away from her captor only to be held closer and a sword was pressed to her throat. She turned to the side of her head carefully and saw that the figure behind her wore a mask of black and yellow, just like Slade's. She remembered a man like that in Fyers' camp. A name wasn't coming to mind but he had often watched her like a hawk, making sure she didn't escape. Winterdall or Wintergreen, something of the like. She tried to gulp down the lump in her throat. _Don't panic, breath._ She looked straight ahead and placed her face into an unreadable expression, she didn't want him knowing she was afraid.

"What have we got here?" the man growled in an Australian accent.

"What do you want?" Shado replied.

"I want you and your little friends to stay away from me."

"And if we don't?"

"Lady, I don't think you want to start a war on this island. You leave me alone I'll leave you alone, understood?"

Shado didn't response to which he pressed the sword closer into her neck. She could feel him drawing the tiniest bit of blood.

"Fine!" she replied at last.

"You make sure to deliver my message to Slade and that little girlfriend of his, okay?" he demanded holding her tighter to him.

"Alright, alright. I'll tell them!"

And just like that he let her go. She turned around while also taking out her knife to find that he was already out of sight. _Damn! How did he move that fast?_

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	14. Chapter 14

**As always thank you to every one of my readers. You all rock! And to my Beta Mrs. Thor Odinson.**

 **Disclaimer: There is a lot of language in this chapter but I felt that it was needed to be true to Slade and Victoria's personality.**

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The Other Queen – 14

Chapter 14

 **Lian Yu 2007**

Stepping into the clearing Shado tried to slow her fast beating heart. She made it to the opening of the wrecked plane and took a deep breath. Taking a moment to compose herself before walking into the base.

The scene she stepped in on was Slade grabbing Victoria's arm and was carefully flipping her over. Victoria got off her back and went straight for a punch to Slade's jaw only to be blocked from the action. Slade was still too fast for her to ever land a punch to him but that didn't prevent her from trying. Shado was surprised how much she was changing up her moves. Some of the training she had given her must have sunk in the young woman's mind. With one kick, Victoria finally managed to knock her partner off balance.

On a create with his back turned Oliver was watching the fight with interest and he hadn't noticed Shado yet. In the next second, Slade had grabbed Victoria by the waist and had pinned her to the floor. Shado almost wanted to walk away from how intimate the moment seemed for the two. But just then Oliver looked over his shoulder, he saw her and walked over to her. He had a smile plastered on his face until he noticed the small cut upon her neck. He looked very concerned and Shado didn't know whether she wanted to kiss him or whack him.

"What the hell happened?" Oliver asked.

Shado looked ahead of herself and Oliver, noticing that Slade and Victoria were looking over at them in concern.

"I ran into Wintergreen," Shado replied.

She noticed Slade's face turn red with angrier and he hurried his steps so he stood beside Oliver. "What?!"

"I ran into Wintergreen and he told me that if we all stay away from him he will stay away from us."

"Is that all that he said?' Slade growled.

"He wanted you and Victoria to get the message," Shado replied.

"What? What did he say?"

"Something like makes sure to deliver my message to Slade and his girlfriend," Shado explained.

"He mentioned Victoria?" Slade asked looking completely livid.

"Hey, I'm just telling you what he told me to say."

"Shado, if he is threatening us I need to know!" Slade shouting, losing a little bit more of his temper with every second.

"Yes, he was threatening us!" Shado shouted back.

How dare he! Victoria thought. She started to pace the floor as Slade and Shado continued to have a shouting match. Looking over at Oliver she saw that he looked shocked and wasn't moving a muscle. Most likely too confused and upset to think of a way to fix this problem. Billy had a lot of nerve threatening them! She was so angry she felt like she could punch him in the face. Breathe, she reminded herself. She looked over at Slade and was happy to see that he was no longer yelling at Shado. Upon looking at him closer she could swear that she saw the wheels turning in his head. What was he planning? I'll give him a minute to think about what he wants to do before asking him. So instead she headed toward Shado, she could clearly see that she was thinking of a plan as well. Victoria needed to know exactly what Billy had said.

"Shado, what did Billy tell you?"

"Have you not been listening?" Shado replied in annoyance.

"Yes, I have but I need for you to repeat what he said. Did he give you a clue as to where he is hiding?"

Shado took a deep breath, composed her thoughts and answered with a sigh, "I can't promise I'll remember exactly what he said to me."

"And that's fine. Just tell me all you remember."

Shado stood thinking for a moment. "He wanted us to stay away from him. Saying that if we left him alone he'd leave us alone."

"Do you believe him?"

"I'm not sure. I don't know him very well. And for some unknown reason, he wanted to make sure I told you and Slade."

"How did he word it about the Slade and I part?"

"Make sure to deliver my message to Slade and his little girlfriend, he said," Shado quoted to the best of her memory.

"And? What else happened?" Victoria asked thoughtfully.

"I told him alright and then he was gone. I couldn't even make out which direction he had gone in. It was like he was never even there," Shado explained with a frown.

How does a man like him just disappear? Victoria thought in confusion. Then she looked over at Slade who was still fuming. They had both received the same training. Both taught to disappear for a living. Where could he have gone? She knew the question wouldn't leave her head till she solved it. So, she decided to put it on the back burner. Leaving Shado's side she walked over to Slade. He didn't seem to even notice that she was there. Too busy trying to make sense of his old friend's threat. Victoria cleared her throat to alert him to her presence but he was still too deep into his thoughts.

"Hey," she finally ventured.

"Hmm?" he questioned while turning his head in her direction.

"What's going on in that head of yours?" she said, trying to lighten the mood he was in.

However, the scowl appeared upon his face once more. "I'm wondering how to deal with that bastard," Slade replied calmly, too calmly.

"I'm sure we will come up with a plan," Victoria reassured forcing a smile.

"You should have just had let me kill him," Slade growled out with an accusing look to Victoria.

"And let you become the monster that he is?" Victoria said with a dangerously low voice.

"If you had just let me, we wouldn't be having this problem."

"And what? I did what I felt was right. I wanted you to live with yourself at the end of the day."

"A lot of good that does us," Slade replied.

Victoria wanted to smack him in the face, she stepped forward to do so but just then Shado grabbed her arm from behind her. Victoria turned on Shado ready to yell at her when she noticed the warning glare that Shado was shooting her. She took a deep breath and followed Shado to the fire and silently sent Slade a glare to which he simply returned.

She sat down in front of the fire with Shado. Silently Shado made sure Victoria wouldn't do something she'd regret and then she stood up and walked over to Oliver. He seemed to be finally recovering from his shock and Victoria watched as they exchanged words. She didn't even try to hear them as she tried to focus her full attention on the burning logs in front of her. She felt so angry she wanted to hit something. And I would have if Shado hadn't stopped me, she thought with a glare in the direction of the Asian woman. Turning back to the fire she tried to remind herself that it wasn't Shado fault. She just simply wanted to keep the peace between them all. It was really Slade's fault. Asshole! How dare he be mad at her? If he had done that if he had done that who knows how many things would have changed? Would she even look at him the same way? She kind of understood why he was upset though. If he had just killed him they wouldn't have to be worried about Billy now. He'd be on the ground and they wouldn't have a care in the world. Well, they would still have to come up with some way off this island but it would be one less thing to be worried about. Could Slade be right? Should she have let him kill Billy? she tried to shake the question out of her mind. It wasn't something that could be undone. But had it been the best decision?

#

Days passed and Victoria's anger with Slade only seemed to grow as he seemed to be actively avoiding her. She wanted to rip off his head but somehow Shado and Oliver had always been there just in time to stop her. And to think I have feelings for that asshole, she thought. She'd gladly have another shouting match with him if it would just stop his moody and infuriating silence. Damn! I wish he'd yell or break something. Hell, I wouldn't mind kissing that jerk face of his. To which only made her angrier. Seeing that he hardly looked at her they sure as hell hadn't been able to fix any of their problems. Aren't we just a couple of the year? she thought sarcastically.

However, it gave her plenty of time to think about everything Billy had said and she started weeding out ideas of where he could possibly be hiding. She had narrowed it down to two locations, the other camp that Oliver had been to before or the cave that she and Oliver had survived for months in. She knew that Billy had told them to leave him only but she couldn't help but wonder where he could possibly be.

She had been thinking about it the last three days and the idea couldn't seem to leave her mind. It was when she was outside training with Shado when she voiced her thoughts and plan of attack.

"Are you crazy? We aren't going to confront Billy," Shado said simply.

"Why? We out number him four to one," Victoria reasoned.

"And he knows the layout of his hideout. If you think he'd just let us walk up to his camp, you don't know Billy Wintergreen at all."

"And you know so much about him?" Victoria shot back.

"I've been talking to Slade and he seems to think that Billy would make sure that he would have traps and nets around his perimeter to assure his safety," Shado explained.

Victoria felt her jaw tighten. So, Slade had been talking to Shado about different facts about Billy lately and yet wouldn't even speak to her. She saw how it was. Victoria allowed the topic to drop though she was livid. How long was Slade going to play this stupid little game? In that moment, she saw Slade walk pass them with a large animal rested on his shoulders. It was like she didn't even remember that Shado was there when she went after the tall Australian man. He looked behind himself and noticed Victoria on his heels.

"What?!" he asked her, stopping his footsteps.

"You tell me. You're the one who has been ignoring me for the last few days!" Victoria shouted back.

"I don't have time for this," he huffed and started once more.

"And what else do you have to do that's so damn important?!"

"Victoria!" he replied, not stopping in his tracks.

"No, I'm not just going to let you ignore me anymore. I'm sick of it Slade! You've been a real asshole for the last week! And I am just tired of it. Would you just stop to look at me!" she shouted as she pulled his arm around so that he was facing her. His face was filled with annoyance but Victoria didn't care she was going to get him to finally stop this madness.

"Let go of me," he said trying to release his arm from her grasp.

"No!"

Finally, Slade completely stopped walking and turned his full attention to her. "Fine! You have my full attention now."

"Could you just stop being an asshole for one damn moment?"

Slade looked like he wanted to say something in return but instead shut his mouth. She waited to make sure he was actually listening to her before she poured it all out on him, "You know I was upset about Billy's threat as well but that doesn't give you the right to be angry with me for not just letting you kill him before. I don't think to kill a man would have solved any of our problems! And I resident the fact that you blame me for that when you told me afterward that you were happy I didn't let you just kill him."

"That was before I fully knew just how much of a threat he was. And I can't believe that you're naïve enough to think that it wouldn't have solved our problem. We wouldn't have to be worried about him ever laying a hand on us again. If I had just done what was the best for us all we wouldn't be in this mess!"

"I don't honestly think you could live with yourself if you had killed an old friend. Whatever he is to you now, it doesn't justify you murdering him," Victoria replied calmly.

"Well, maybe you don't know me at all! I would have done what was needed to ensure our safety but instead, I allowed my weakness to get the better of me."

"So, what compassion is a weakness now?"

"When you allow it to cloud your better judgment."

"Slade, killing is wrong. There is a better way."

"Victoria, we aren't living by the rules of a civil government anymore. We are stuck on an island where our actions and our judgment is the only law."

"That doesn't make it right."

"And what?! They would have killed us without a moment's hesitation." Slade explained.

It was Victoria's turn to walk away from him. He wanted to call out her own avoidant but instead sent her a silent glare and continued into the wrecked plane. Damn, that woman was infuriating. Perhaps he shouldn't have avoided her the last couple of days but he hadn't really been looking forward to the fight he knew would ensue. So, he had ignored her hoping to allow himself more time to think and not have to worry about yet another thing. In all honesty, he wasn't a fan when she was this angry. Of course, they had never had a fight this big before but he didn't think she understood the gravity of the situation. And though he wanted to make her understand he knew until she had been through what he had on this island that she never would.

Meanwhile, Victoria was walking in the opposite direction of the wrecked plane. She needed room to breathe, to think and she wasn't going to be getting it while in the presence of Slade. How could he possibly think that killing someone that you didn't have to was needed? He had been unarmed when Slade had nearly killed him. True he managed to grab a sword with little difficulty, Victoria had a scar on her side to prove it, but that didn't make killing him right. She bit down hard on her bottom lip, thinking long and hard, wondering what it was that she should do?

Her thoughts wandered from Slade to Billy once more and her curiosity of where that son-of-a-bitch was driving her crazy. Surely the cave would allow more cover and she was sure that he was taking full advantage of the traps and nets on that side of the island. I need to know where he is hiding. This thought just kept running through her mind until it was almost driving her crazy. There has got to be a way back to that cave But we couldn't all go at it at once. There is too many of them to move in stealth. Just then a thought hit her. What if I go alone? Fewer chances of her getting caught. What if something goes wrong? she thought. I've been doing lots of training. No, no it was too risky. But maybe it was worth it? Just then Oliver came over to talk to her and she had to put her thoughts on the back burner.

#

It took a long time for Slade to fall asleep that night. His mind kept replaying the fight he had with Victoria and he was realizing just how much of an asshole he had been. He looked over at her bed and noticed that she was sound asleep. I should really apologize to her, he thought with a groan. At least then she'd stop being angry with him. One less thing to worry about. The real reason he had gotten so mad at her about sparing Billy's life was that he was worried about protecting the woman he loved. He had finally come to terms with the fact that he was completely in love with Victoria. Which was why he was so hell-bent on protecting her. He knew it was wrong for him to blame her for what had happened. But it had been easier to blame her than admit that he had no idea what they should do about the threat that was his ex-closest-friend. He just wanted to make sure that everyone he cared about on this island was safe, even Oliver.

So, with a sigh he thought to himself that he would tell Victoria he was sorry tomorrow morning and hopefully they could get back to the matter at hand, coming up with a plan to take down Billy. Finally, he allowed himself to give into a peaceful, dreamless sleep.

#

It was very early the next morning when Victoria awoke on the next day. The sun hadn't even risen. Slowly she made her way through the wrecked plane without a sound until she walked over to the crate that held their weapons. She quickly and quietly placed the sword holder upon her back and adjusted the strap. So far so good, no one had stirred in their sleep. She walked towards the opening and was just about to continue forward when she accidentally knocked down a jug of water. She reached out to grab it but wasn't fast enough to prevent it from crashing to the ground. She looked in horror at each of her sleeping companions, Slade stirred in his cot. Worrying that he would find her out of bed at this crazy hour she started doubling back to her bed when she heard the rhythmic sound of snores from Slade's direction. With a sigh of relief, she continued out of the opening.

Once outside she let out the breath that she had been holding in and smiled as she could still see the dew glistened in the fading darkness. Taking a deep breath of the fresh air she moved forward. She had a lot of ground to cover before she made it to Yao Fei's cave.

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	15. Chapter 15

**Hey, guys! Sorry, it's been nearly a month since the last update, life has been crazy! Even my Beta had to take time off because of college ;) This chapter took me a while to write and I finally liked how it came out. I hope you all enjoy it.**

 **Orthankg1** **: Thank you so much for the review. I hope you like this chapter as well.**

 **Letonlee** **: Thank you so much for reviewing! I hope you like this chapter as well. Please let me know what you think of the reviews! :)**

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The Other Queen – 15

Chapter 15

 **Lian Yu 2007**

Victoria pressed on farther into the forest. As she walked she noticed small animals pass by her, probably all of them were worried she'd eat them for dinner but she hardly paid them any mind. Instead, her thoughts were too busy being a focus on coming up with multiple backup plans. She wasn't as good as Slade when it came to attacking strategies but she had a natural gift of coming up with a few plans for survival. She half wondered if she should head back and ask one of her other companions to join her. _You never do anything right,_ a voice that sounded like her mother mocked her. _No, she had to do this on her own. She just had to know where Billy was and just how much of a danger he was to her and the others. She needed to do this. To prove to her mother, to Slade, Oliver and to herself that she was strong enough to do this on her own._

With determination, she stepped forward and continued through the trees and tropical air.

#

It was sunrise when Slade awoke from his sleep. The first thing he did was move so that he was sitting on one side of his cot. Then he rounded his shoulders and circled his head on his neck, he stopped when he heard them both crack. Next, he reached out his arms and a yawn escaped him and slowly he allowed his eyes to adjust to the light that was streaming through the opening of their camp. Finally, when he could see clearly, he looked around at his companions' beds. His eyes immediately landed on Victoria's bed only to find that she wasn't in it. This put him on high alert. _She often works out early in the mornings,_ he reminded himself. _I probably find her stretching or maybe she is taking a run. Surely, she knows better than to go very far with Billy Wintergreen on the loose?_ So, he quickly glanced at the other two's bed and got up to relieve himself behind one of the brushes around camp. Once he finished he went to their makeshift washroom, washed his hands he dumped out the water and placed more water into the bowl to splash upon his face.

He walked to the front of their camp into the clearing and looked around. _No sign of Toria,_ he thought with a sigh. _Probably decided to go for a short walk._ So, he forced himself to stretch his muscles. He knew he didn't focus enough of his time into stretching but his thoughts kept running back to Victoria. As time passed and she still didn't return he started to worry about her. _She might be just hunting for breakfast,_ he tried to reassure himself. Minutes went by and he felt his heart racing. _Is she hurt? Could she just be taking in the scenery? No that's silly she knows better than to run off by herself. Doesn't she?_

More minutes passed. Slade was pacing back and forth. _Is she lying somewhere injured? Dying? Surely, she would have been back by now. Damn it, why doesn't she just come back to the camp already. Maybe I'm just overreacting? She is probably alright. It's not like she doesn't know how to handle herself. But what if she is somewhere on the island she isn't familiar with and she is lost? Why in the hell is she taking so long? Does she have any idea what it's doing to me?_ And yet more time passed and he felt himself nearly going mad. _Where could she possibly be? Will She ever return? Will I ever… Damn it, don't think like that! Why on earth would she go somewhere with the threat of Billy hanging over their heads? Unless… No, she couldn't possibly be that stupid!_ Then it hit him like a ton of bricks, Victoria was going to confront Billy. _But why? Why would she willingly put herself in danger? Why hadn't she gone to me first? Would he ever see her again? Would he ever be able to tell her how he felt? I need to save her!_

And with that thought, he quickly made it into to the wrecked plane. Grabbed his two swords, placed them in their holder, quickly put on his jacket and made his way to a path. He knelt close to the cleared path and noticed the small footprint in the dirt and more ahead of them. _Damn it, she couldn't just possible stay in camp. No! She had to go and be stupid¸_ he thought with a frown. _What on earth possessed her to go after Billy? Was she trying to prove herself? A strange need to impress them, him maybe? There are better ways to impress me, love._ He wished he could tell Victoria. _She is impossible… Will I even get the chance to tell her how crazy she drives me? How much I care?_

Slade tried to push his worries and thoughts to the back of his mind and instead focused on the path in front of him. He needed to find Victoria and see if she was alright.

#

The sun was hanging high in the sky as Victoria continued in the direction of the cave. _Would Billy be inside the cave or outside? Would he be armed? Was this whole plan a terrible idea? Probably,_ she concluded. But it was too late to back out of this plan. She needed to know where Billy was to keep those she cared about safe. _I wonder anyone has even noticed that I've left? Would Slade think I'm brave or foolish? Maybe both? Will I ever see him again? Don't think like that,_ she berated herself. _Of course, I'm going to see him again. I'm going to be fine, right?_

The cave came into her view she slowed her pace and looked around in each direction multiple times before she took cover behind a tree. The trees were thinning in front of her and she stood where she was trying to decide her plan of attack. _I'll take cover till I get to the cave and see if I hear him in there. Yeah, that sounds like the best idea. No, you should have asked for backup, that would have been a promising idea. No, I need to do this, for Slade and more importantly myself._

So, she slowly made her way off the right side of the cave, just a foot away from the entrance. She calmed her breathing and listened closely. Moments passed in silence, she couldn't hear a single noise. _Maybe he is away or perhaps at Fyers' abandoned camp?_ As she was thinking this a noise coming from inside the cave she moved forward. Again, she heard the same sound. _There has got to be something in there._ Just then she felt a strong callous hand cover her mouth, a strong arm wrapped around her waist and she felt herself start to panic before she looked down at the figure's boots, they were the same as Slade's. She felt herself relax in the figures grasps.

"Hello sweetheart," a masculine voice whispered in her ear. She felt her heart stop. That wasn't Slade's voice.

She started to struggle to allow herself to get free but instead the arm holding her only tightened around her.

"Not so fast, darling," he said with a humorless chuckle.

Victoria had only heard that voice once before but it didn't take her long to connect the voice to the man, Billy Wintergreen was the man holding onto her dangerously tight. He moved his face closer towards her while he tried to tuck her to his side. Once his profile was in view she was surprised with what she found. The man had a strong jaw, a large nose, and his hair was a sandy color papered with gray. He would have been handsome if it wasn't for the menacing face he pointed towards her, his eyes were a cold blue, like ice.

"Didn't I tell all of you to stay the hell away from me?" he asked her in a growl.

She tried to control her shaking form and not let him see her flinch and started to struggle out of his hold. She managed to stomp on one of his feet with all her might. Which only caused him to hold onto her so tight she half worried he'd crush her.

"Hey, I'm talking to you. Did you hear your little friend saying to leave me alone?"

Victoria didn't respond to him but sent him a glare. He slapped her hard across the face with his free hand.

"I'm talking to you, you little bitch," he barked at her.

She shook her head in understanding, hoping to make him stop tightening his grip around her. He left his tight grip around her but at least it stopped tightening around her ribcage.

"I'm not going to say it again," he warned.

"I heard you!" she yelled in response.

"Which part of leaving me the hell alone did you not understand? Huh?" his profile invaded her personal space once more.

"I needed to know where you were," she whispered.

"What was that?"

"I needed to know where you were you, asshole!" she shouted back.

"Let me guess you wanted to spy on me?"

Victoria simply stared ahead.

"Well answer me!"

"Yes."

"Finally, some honesty. Are you alone or do you have backup coming?"

"I'm alone."

"Don't you lie to me. Slade would never have let you go on your own for this. Where are your friends?"

"I'm not lying."

His grip became tight once more.

"I'm not I swear! The others don't know I'm here!"

Just then she felt a laugh rumble through his chest as her back was pressed into it. "Oh, I get it now. Slade's little girlfriend wanted to kill the bad guy and save the day huh? Prove your worth. Yeah, you're wasting your time. I'm wondering now if you even thought this through?" he mocked her.

She felt a tear just beginning to form in the corner of her eye. _No, I can't let him see me weak._ Holding her head straighter she simply looked ahead as he continued to laugh at her.

#

Slade was closing in on Victoria's trail. He prayed she'd be alright once he made it to her. _Hopefully, she hasn't gotten herself killed before then. Fantastic way to focus, Slade,_ he berated himself. He could just make out shouting for up ahead and heard two very familiar voices. The trees were beginning to thin and he knew that he'd have to take cover to surprise Billy.

Slowly he hid behind one tree. Looking in front of him he saw a medium sized cave several feet away from him. In the front of the cave was unmistakable Billy holding Victoria in a tight grasp. Slade felt his jaw tighten in angry. _I'm going to kill him._ Luckily, he noticed that Billy seemed to be talking to Victoria and he didn't seem to be expecting back up to come for her. _He always was a cocky bastard._

Slade made his way to the cave slowly so neither Billy or Victoria would see him. He didn't want her to give him away in any way. Hopefully, he'd surprise her as well. So, he took cover at every tree and decide to head a little bit more to the right of them. There were trees and he'd be closer to them than if he came in from the left. Silently, he continued watching every step he took so that he wouldn't step on the smallest twig. Seeing the situation, he knew that Billy didn't have a sword in his hand but he figured it was behind him in its holder. _The element of surprise is my biggest assist,_ he repeated in his mind. Finally, he could make out their outlines perfect as they stood just a foot from them. He pulled out his sword slowly and continued forward, making his appearance known.

In front of him, Victoria had stopped talking Billy suddenly and he heard her take a deep intake of breath. Angry raised in him as he noticed a large, hand-shaped bruise was forming on her left cheek. Billy turned in his direction and he saw him stiffen in an alert way. The cocky face that had been on Billy's face only moments before melted into one of panic and Slade felt himself smirk as his old friend didn't seem happy to see him. _Does the asshole honestly think he can hit a woman and get away with it?_

"Slade," Billy said simply.

"Let her go, Billy," Slade replied with a glare.

"It seems your girlfriend isn't really good at listening to directions."

Slade stepped forward but with every step he took, he noticed Victoria wince in pain as Billy tightened his grip around her.

"Billy, let her go," Slade said with a dangerously calm voice.

Billy shook his head and Victoria let out a small whimper of pain.

"I swear Billy if you touch her again I'll kill you!" Slade shouted angrily.

"I don't think you will," Billy responded with fake confidence.

Slade sent him the worst glare that Victoria had ever seen him ever give someone. He continued to walk closer to the pair. Victoria knew that she had to do something if she was going to get out of Billy's grasp. She noticed the tight hold around her waist was now closer to her chest and as Slade got closer she felt Billy's grip became lax. In one swift moment, Victoria had brought Billy's arm to her mouth and she bit down as hard as she could. Then she felt it remove from her fully and she ran as quickly away from the tall Australian as she could. She realized she was a little farther away from Slade then she wanted to be but she was glad that she was just out of danger for the moment. When she looked back she saw Billy hunched over a bit and he was grabbing his arm.

Slade saw his moment and with a battle cry, he rammed into Billy, making sure to aim a little higher as to knock the wind out of him. He knocked him to the ground and quickly got himself up to get the upper hand. It took Billy longer to raise himself off the ground but he managed to and slowly he pulled out the sword in his holder. Slade gripped his own katana with both hands, he waited only long enough until he noticed that Billy had taken a defensive stance and he lunged for him. Billy managed to block the attack with some hesitates. Slade raised his blade to strike but instead surprised both Victoria and Billy when he sent a powerful kick into the side of Billy's left leg. Billy's blade meets Slade's and they both locked the sword closer towards the other. Slade's blade swung free from the lock, nearly yanking Billy's out of his hand. As Slade swung his sword around to regain his balance, he managed to slice into Billy's pants, slicing the fabric and deep into his skin. Billy staggered back and held onto his bleeding thigh, without another thought Slade kicked him into the injured leg and Billy was sent unto his side.

Slade hardly acknowledged the cursing coming from Billy as he moved forward and grabbed Victoria's hand with his free one. Not stopping even to place his sword in its holder he continued forward, dragging her with him. While he moved a good distance away he looked over his shoulder and noticed that Billy was still a bloody heap upon the ground.

#

Slade hadn't even looked at Victoria yet and she was starting to get annoyed/upset that he wouldn't even spare her a passing glance. She half wondered if they'd stop at all before they both made it to camp. A few more long moments passed in silence until Slade just suddenly stopped in the middle of a clump of trees.

"What in the hell were you thinking?!" he asked shouted.

"I…" Victoria started.

"Do you realize that you could have been gravely injured or worse?!" he shouted not waiting for an answer from her.

"I needed to know where he was!" Victoria replied at last.

"What the hell were you thinking?"

"We needed to know where he was and our arguing wasn't getting us anywhere."

"So, you decided to go and find out where he was, alone? What the hell kind of thinking is that?! We are a team we act as a team!"

"Oh, and I see you brought Shado and Oliver to come rescue me too I see," Victoria shot back with sarcasm.

"That's completely different! Don't you dare turn this back around on me!"

"No, you just hate it when everyone else breaks your precious little rules as long as it isn't you!"

"Now that's a load of bull and you know it. I had to make sure you were alright and it was easier doing it on my own."

"See! Always coming up with the perfect excuse! I doubt you even cared that much that I was gone. You just want to play the hero, save the girl all that jazz."

Slade's jaw tightened and he sent her a hurt glare in her direction but she stayed her ground. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she knew she was being childish but she couldn't handle him giving her such a tough time right now. She had messed up but did he have to always bark at her like this? Why did he have to sound so much like her mother? Never ever giving her a break. "You know perfectly well that I just couldn't let you get hurt. Not given the way I feel about you," he said with a shaky voice.

"O yeah? Is, that right?! And how do you feel about me huh?"

"Do you need me to spell it out for you?!" he shouted.

"Maybe!"

"Do you actually need me to spell it out for you?"

"Yeah maybe. Maybe I do Slade!"

"Dammit, I love you! Crazy ass woman. I love you! You happy now?"

Victoria looked stunned to the spot and her mouth was slightly open. He could still feel the fumes from his angrier come off him like heat but he took a deep breath and tried to steady his breathing. He had just told the woman he loved that he loved her and he didn't know whether to march away from her or crash his lips onto hers. Looking over at her once more he could see that she was shocked. _Had she really been that surprised about his feelings for her? Surely, she had figured it out by now._ As her mouth, finally closely and she continued to look at him quizzically he could only conclude that it had indeed surprised her.

"Slade, I…" she started.

"You don't need to say anything," he said in a very calm voice. And he meant it. She didn't need to say a thing.

"But I…"

"Honestly, you don't need to say a damn thing."

This caused her to pause for several moments in silence before asking, "So do you want me to talk or not?"

"I meant what I bloody hell said. You don't need to repeat it or tell me off again or you can if you want, but you don't have to," Slade explained.

Victoria kept silent. She cared about Slade, more than another guy she had ever dated or thought about dating. Even more than Tommy Merlyn who she had had a crush on for years. Luckily that had stopped once Tommy started high school. _But did she love Slade?_ she questioned. Yes, she had strong feelings and couldn't bear the idea of him getting hurt but she wasn't sure she loved him yet. There was a feeling for him though that she guessed could turn into love with time. She was thankful that Slade hadn't pushed her to say it to him. She wasn't ready yet. Hopefully what she did feel about him would turn into love.

They continued to the camp in silence. Slade never letting Victoria leave his sights. It didn't take them long before they made into the clearing that the wrecked plane was located. Slade looked over at her to enter before him. "I think I'll stay out here for a minute," Victoria said sheepishly.

Slade fixed her with a pointed glare which told her that she wasn't going to be going anywhere without him for a while. "Okay then," she sighed before walked into the doorway with Slade on her tail.

Just then she felt two arms rush her in an embrace, looking at the figure she realized it was Oliver and he had her in a death grip. "Where the hell could you have gone? I was worried sick!"

"Sorry," Victoria replied while she tried to break free of his hug. He only let go of her to hold her arms out to analyze her.

"You had us both worried," Shado said more calmly behind her.

"Well we are fine now," Slade simply supplied.

"Is that all we are going to get out of you? You're both alright, I can see that. Where were you!?" Oliver demanded.

Victoria looked terrified at Slade, worried he'd chew her out in front of everyone but she was surprised to find that he didn't even open his mouth to speak. _Wait, why isn't he giving me a tough time? I mean he has an audience and everything._ Still, Slade didn't make an attempt to explain a thing. He gave her a meaningful look, she could tell that he wasn't going to speak a word of anything that had happened. She sent him a grateful look and mouthed a thank you to him which he simply brushes off with a small smile.

"We had a run-in with Billy," Victoria explained.

"What?!" Oliver and Shado shouted in unison.

"But it's fine, Slade managed to get us out without either of us getting hurt," Victoria continued.

"What happened?!"

"Okay don't want to talk about it, the point is we are okay," Victoria stated, more confidently than she felt.

"And that's supposed to be a good enough explanation?" Oliver asked, clearly annoyed.

"Hey kid, stop giving her a tough time alright?" Slade defended her.

"Seriously?!" Oliver asked/whined.

"I think she told you all you need to know," Slade replied, giving him a glare.

* * *

 **Please let me know what you thought of the chapter in the reviews. And please follow and favorite!**

 **Hope you all have a wonderful day!**


	16. Chapter 16

**Hey, Guys! I want to thank each and everyone of you who has followed, favorite and reviewed! You guys are so supportive! And to my amazing Beta Mrs. Thor Odinson. I suggest you guys go check out her stories.**

 **Orthankg1** **: Thank you for your review! I'm glad you keep coming back!**

 **Letonlee** **: Thank you for your review! I know! Slade and Victoria's relationship has been my favorite to write out of all my other pairings! I'm glad you think it was well written. It's been a little hard coming up with all of these filler chapters but at the same time I'm happy to fill in the gaps. Don't worry the wait is over, the next chapter is here for all my lovely readers!**

 **Nikahlee** **: I know, they both are idiots at relationships! You've got to love Slade throwing in that she is crazy though when he is also telling her that he loves her, classic Slade. I'm so glad that you're excited about my story and looking forward to how it all will end :) I hope I'll be able to delivery! I'm also excited to write it and find out what people think about things. I'm expecting to get far but not sure how far yet. Well, for your other questions you'll have to wait to see what happens ;) Don't worry, I always think way too far ahead :) I'm so glad that my story got you pulled in and wanting to see what happens next! Thank you for your review!**

* * *

The Other Queen chapter 16

Chapter 16

 **Lian Yu 2008**

Victoria was rocking in the middle of the sea, Oliver was sitting beside her in the life raft, looking half awake half asleep. Her father was looking wild his eyes were wide, Victoria looked down to see a gun held tight in her hand, it was trained on her father's head. Oliver was yelling in the background, she could faintly hear him begging her to stop, she was frightening him. But she was only half listening, instead, she continued to point the unforgiving metal gun at her father with shaky hands. Her father had wide eyes but he didn't look angry only pleadingly, but he didn't move to grab the gun from her.

"Please, Victoria," he begged with a determined look.

"No, dad! No, make me do this. Please, I can't," she said with tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Victoria, you and Oliver have to survive this. I'm an old man, you have your whole lives ahead of you," he replied. Looking at her intensely.

"Dad, please. Please, I can't do this," she pleaded.

"Victoria, sweetheart. It's going to be alright. Just pull the trigger, baby."

"No, Victoria don't!" Oliver shouted as if far away.

"Victoria, do it!" Robert yelled.

Without another word and without realizing what she was doing she pulled the trigger and watched as her father's head jerked back and a giant hole in his head had blood flowing freely from it. She felt a sob rock her body and she lunged forward to grab her father. Oliver was yelling at her to stay away from their father, that this was all her fault. Victoria knew it was. If it wasn't for her being here her dad and Oliver would have probably survived. There wasn't enough food for the three of them. And she had pulled the trigger.

"Dad," she cried as she held his lifeless body in her arms.

"Victoria, this is your fault!" Oliver shouted at her.

"I know, but he asked me to! I didn't want to! He begged me to!" Victoria continued to sob.

"I don't care! You killed him! You killed him!" Oliver replied.

Victoria felt herself jerk up into a sitting position in her small makeshift bed in camp. Tears were flowing down her cheeks. Everything was a blur until her eyes came into focus. Kneeling beside her bed was a concerned looking Slade who moved closer to her as she looked over at him. She looked at him with a frightened look. She looked ahead of her to see a half-asleep Oliver standing in the middle of the camp looking at her with anxiety. She felt a sharp pain in her arm and looked down to see her good hand grabbing at her sore shoulder. She remembered faintly a man with cold eyes and a British accent shooting her, Fyers, Fyers had shot her in the shoulder. She was still recovering from the wound.

Slade slowly neared her, only for her to flinch away from him. He ignored how hurt he felt at she turned away from him. But she didn't look frightened of him but for some reason frightened for him. "Victoria," he said reaching out to her once more.

"No, stay away. I don't want to hurt you," Victoria said quietly as she pulled away from him once more.

"Victoria, it was only a dream. It's alright. You're alright," Slade reassured her.

More tears flowed down Victoria's pale white cheeks, she knew it was just a nightmare. She continued to cry silently as Slade looked at her in concern. He had seen her after some of her nightmares but it had never been this bad.

He looked over at Oliver who looked like he had no idea what to do. Slade tipped his head towards Oliver's bed, silently telling him to return to bed. Slade didn't think that Oliver being here would make things any better. Oliver simply looked at him confused, taking a step forward. Slade suppressed a growl and instead spoke to Oliver in a hushed voice, "I've got this, kid. Go back to bed."

Oliver looked a little relieved by this and turned around back towards his bed. Shado looked over at him to which he flashed a half-hearted smile and climbed into the bed and placed his blanket upon him. She laid back down and wrapped the thin blanket around her.

Slade let out an audible sigh as Oliver climbed into bed. It was three weeks since Victoria had gone and fought Billy and her nightmares only seemed to have gotten worst. She was frequently waking most of them up with screams or loud whimpers in her sleep. He wished more than anything that he could somehow make them all go away. But he knew he couldn't. He moved closer to her as her sobs became audible once more he wrapped his arms around her and she continued to cry into his black tank. She clung onto him tightly, which surprised him but he smiled that she was allowing him to comfort her. He rubbed circles on her back and spoke quite words of comfort, "Shush, it's okay. I'm here. It's okay."

She continued to cry but this seemed to calm her down considerably. Finally, he heard her whisper something that he didn't catch.

"What?" he inquired gently.

"Promise me that you won't leave me," she begged while her face buried deeper into his shoulder.

Slade's heart skipped a beat, she wanted him to continue being in her life. It wasn't her outright telling him how she felt about him but it was the closest she had come to it yet.

He tightened his hold around her and he replied, "I promise."

At this response, she tightened her arms around his waist and she let out a sigh. They just stayed in this position until Slade could hear her breathing even out to a normal pace. He pulled the tiniest bit away from her and scanned her face. She had drying tear tracks down her cheeks all the way down her long pretty neck. Without a word, Slade reached out and followed one of the fresh tears down her cheeks all the way down her neck, she shivered at the contact and let out a moan. A fervent desire raised in Slade as another moan sounded from her lips as he placed a gentle hand upon her neck. He looked up in her eyes and noticed her moving forward, towards him. He closed the space between them as he gently kissed her lips, another moan rumbled in her throat, he licked her lips to allow him entrance which she did. Their kiss became passionate as he continued to stroke her tongue with his own and searched her mouth, a moan of his own sounded in his throat as her tongue searched his mouth.

The need to go up for air was the thing that pulled them away from their kiss. Slade opened his eyes to find her eyes clouded with a look of desire in them, a small part of him wanted to ignite it but just then he heard a small snore sounding in the direction of Oliver's bed. He let out a sigh of annoyance and he looked over to see Victoria looking over in Oliver's direction as well. She looked over at him with a look that was a little annoyed but he knew it wasn't at him, _they weren't along,_ it told him as loud as if it had passed her lips.

Slowly he pulled away from her further and was almost out of her reach before she quickly pulled his hand, "Please…" she started, not quite knowing what to say.

Slade looked at her in confusion. "Yes?" he breathed.

"Please, just sit here on the bed, until I fall asleep. Please?" she asked.

He nodded his head and helped her back into her blankets. It took a little while for her to get herself comfortable once more but once she found her favorite place on the bed to sleep and he watched as her eyelids began to flutter and her breathing became even, soon a small sleeping noise purred from her lips as she allowed herself to fully give into sleep. Slade smiled as he watched her sleeping peacefully. As silently as he could he got up and placed a soft kiss upon her rosy cheek, a smile seemed to spread across her face as she continued to sleep. He walked over to his bed and got into the blankets, hoping that Victoria's dreams won't wake her again tonight.

#

Oliver looked over at his sister in concern, early this morning she had awakened them from their sleep again with a loud plead. It didn't take a lot to know that Victoria's nightmares were getting worse. 'Dad,' she would always mention dad in screams or pleads in her sleep. Oliver felt sorry for her, he didn't really have dreams anymore, he thought this was a blessing in comparison to Victoria always seemingly having the same horrible nightmare repeat itself. Not that it didn't bother him in waking hours though, his father's bloody and mangled head would probably haunt him till his dying day.

Just then Slade slide over next to Victoria by the side, breaking Oliver from his train of thought. Slade had a large animal he was carrying and he went straight to work helping Victoria clean the animal for eating. Oliver smiled as Slade and Victoria smiled and chatted as they worked. They seemed to make living in this hell a little easier for each other. Of course, they still fought like cats and dogs but more often than not they would just be sitting next to each other comfortable or he'd catch them sparring, normally talking or looking content in the silence.

He now knew that he had been blind to their slow developing a romantic relationship, he had no idea if they had talked about it, confirmed their feelings, hell he didn't even know if they had had sex, not that he wanted to know. At first, he wasn't sure what he thought of the two having this…. thing between them. As time went on though he realized it wasn't really any of his business and he knew that Slade would take care of her, that's another reason he started to like their relationship. Oliver knew that he wasn't the best big brother, he knew that he had missed out on a lot of Victoria's life already, he knew that he hadn't been there when she needed him the most. Slade, however, was there for her in ways Oliver never could be for her, he was good to her and was good for her.

Looking around him, Oliver knew he wanted to get to know all of them better, Slade, Shado, Victoria, he wanted to know them, the real them, not the masks they showed everyone else. He had been doing that for years, living under his mask of billionaire playboy, he was realizing that wasn't even him anymore. Maybe, somewhere deep inside he still was but he felt different, like he had seen and done too much to be the same.

His eyes lingered on Shado, she was stretching out, a distance away from the fire, where they usually spared. She held out one of the bamboo sticks in her hand and was incorporating it into her routine. Oliver watched her silently, she was beautiful. Not only did she move slowly, she moved gracefully. Slowly she arched her back from her bowed position and stood up straight. As she rose he saw her flutter just a bit as their eyes locked, looking away from him she continued her moves until she was finished. Once she finished Oliver strode over to her with a smile.

"You were moving… very gracefully," Oliver shuttered.

 _Why was he acting all goofy around her? He had already known he found her attractive, why was he acting like a school boy?_ He had been acting like this a lot lately, when they sparred or when she taught him Mandarin. Oliver was starting to think he wanted to give things a go with his relationship with Shado, it wasn't like Laurel wasn't probably trying to get over him back in Starling City.

Her brown eyes seemed to lighten up as she smiled up at him. This time Oliver felt his throat tighten and he felt himself being drawn to her even more. He watched her as she went over to their weapons pile and instead of placing the bamboo stick back upon the others she pulled out three more sticks. Oliver looked at her quizzically as she walked over to him and handed him two of the sticks.

"We need to work on your blocking," she simply remarked, as a way of an explanation.

"Okay but remember to go easy on me, I haven't been training since I could walk," he teased her.

She sent him a look as if telling him 'you think so, don't you?' and then stood a few inches away from him.

"It was since I was five, not since I could walk," she replied with a playful smirk.

"Oh, I'm sorry, you're right I was completely off with that statement," Oliver deadpanned back.

This time Shado seemed to have to hide a chuckle as she straightened her posture, or at least Oliver liked to think that he had almost made her laugh.

She didn't take long until she was lunging at him with one of her stick, Oliver managed to block this attack only to have her strike his side with her other stick. Oliver groaned as he felt the solid wood hit into his side, Shado hit him again as if proving her point that he had left himself open.

"Okay, I still need a lot of work," Oliver commented.

"Would you just shut up and get into another defensive pose," Shado ordered.

 _Okay, all business now I see,_ Oliver thought as he pulled away and moved into another defensive pose like she told him to do. She could be gorgeous as can be, but just as scary it seemed. This time she didn't even wait until he was ready but he was surprised to find that he blocked both her strike to his shoulder and the one that tried to get him off balance. However, this progress was slowly turned around as Shado moved to attack him again and managed to hit the bamboo onto his neck. _Ouch!_ Oliver thought as the stick hit his windpipe. _And this is when she isn't trying to kill me._

"You're focusing too much on other things besides my strikes," Shado pointed out, pulling the object away from his neck.

Oliver bent his head down just a little, he knew he wasn't focused enough, for some reason he couldn't concentrate.

"You have too many things going on in your mind. It's like the bow. Your target is to block my strikes," Shado described.

"It's easy when you say it like that, but I can't seem to be doing that," Oliver whined.

"Breathe, everything breathe," Shado quoted.

"Shado," Oliver started.

"Oliver, this isn't about my father. This is about you learning to defend yourself. When I was being taught how to fight my father would always say that to me. It helped. Don't over think. Just plan how to defend the attack."

Oliver took a deep breath and awaited the attack from Shado, this time focusing on her hands and arms. She made to swipe his arm which he blocked with ease, next she rose her other arm high above her as she thought he was focused on her last strike, again Oliver surprised her by blocking it. This went on for a while, Oliver managed to block almost every strike of Shado's, some still managed to take him off his guard but he rallied afterward and seemed to improve.

Once they had finished their sparring they just stood there looking at each other, Oliver thought he almost saw a look of pride coming from her eyes. She smiled at him and he felt a flutter in his navel. Nodding silent she showed him respect. Oliver bowed in return with a grin spreading slowly across his face, which only seemed to deepen hers.

"Hey, kid, are you just going to stand there grinning like an idiot? It's time to eat," Slade growled.

Oliver was surprised to see that Slade had managed to walk up behind him and was currently sending him a glare. _What in the hell is his deal?_ From the fire, he could see that Victoria was trying not to laugh at the situation. _Yeah, laugh all you want. At least you managed to get on his good side if he has one._ Oliver still didn't understand why Slade snapped at him so often. He was starting to think he treated everyone but Victoria like that.

Shado was the one who moved first from her position and placed her weaponry in the pile and headed to the fire to join the others. With an audible sigh, Oliver followed her movements and was sitting beside Slade next to the fire. Slade seemed less annoyed and held out a portion of the meat to him. He gladly accepted as he was growing to notice just how hungry he was.

"Thanks," Oliver said with a smile, hoping that Slade would stop looking so damn serious.

"Don't thank me, kid. Your sister made me save you some food," Slade confessed.

"Well thank you, Victoria, for letting me have some as well," Oliver commented, his words dripping with sarcasm.

"For God's sake, would you just use Toria like Slade and Shado do," Victoria declared with a smirk. She seemed all too happy to give him a tough time as well.

"Jesus," he mumbled under his breath.

"What was that, kid?" Slade asked, with a chuckle. No doubt finding it funny that Victoria had got in on picking on Oliver as well.

"Thank you, Toria for this lovely meal," Oliver retorted with a flourish.

"I was wondering how long it was going to take for you to start calling her that," Shado added with a smirk of her own.

"Why me God?" Oliver mumbled to himself. "You're in on this too?" he asked Shado.

All he got in response was all three of them breaking into laughter. He looked hurt at first for them all laughing at him but as they continued and Shado said in between laughter, "Oh my god! You should have seen your face." He couldn't help but start laughing with them. _Damn this island is making me way too serious,_ he thought. _I need to stop taking myself so bloody serious all the time._ And with a smile, he continued to laugh with his friends and sister.

* * *

 **I don't know why I love writing Victoria's nightmares so much but I do.**

 **Please tell me what you thought of the chapter in the reviews! And please follow and favorite.**


	17. Chapter 17

**Hey, guys! This is the last chapter of the first year on the island. I'm going to be having a break for a while until I start posting year two of the island. I need the time to focus on my Wonder Woman story. So, if you guys want you can go check that out. Titled; A Piece of Him.**

 **I wanted to ask you guys if you'd prefer year two just being added to this story or should I come up with another title for that season? Please let me know in the reviews!**

 **As always, I want to thank every person who has favorited, followed, reviewed and read this story! It means the world to me and I can't wait to come back with season two of the island material.**

 **josephguy217: Thank you for the review! Glad that you liked the chapter. Please tell me what you think of this one in the reviews!**

 **letonlee: Thank you so much for the review! That chapter was fun to write! I know! Slade is the sweetest when he is comforting Toria! Here is your next chapter! Please let me know what you think of the reviews!**

* * *

The Other Queen chapter 17

Chapter 17

 **Lian Yu 2008**

A month passed peacefully by for the two couples. All of them were restless though as the threat of Billy Wintergreen not making another appearance loomed over their head. No one more so than Slade. He'd be on high alert from the moment he woke up in the morning to finally when he laid his head down for the night. Victoria noticed that there were dark circles forming under the Australian's dark eyes and she noticed how often he'd look tense and like he was just waiting for something to happen. She'd try to talk about his family waiting for him back home or try to crack a smile across his face but nothing seemed to work. She hated seeing him so unnerved.

Oliver was having hunting lessons with Shado one day as Victoria cooked her and Slade some lunch. Silently she watched the well-tuned Australian and could see the amount of focus he was putting into his work out. Normally it would have excited her to see the man that she had feelings for shirtless but all she found herself doing lately was worry about him. Why couldn't he just talk to her about it? She'd find herself wondering.

"Hey," he greeted, breaking her from her thoughts.

"Hey, what's up?" she mumbled back.

"As always, nothing much. You need help with anything?" he offered.

She asked him to place some fresh logs in the dying embers. He did and then sat in his usual seat beside her. She looked over at him. He had a scowl on his face, deep in thought. Placing a hand on his arm reassuring she brought him out of his thoughts.

"Hmm?"

"You okay?" she asked him concerned.

"Fine," Slade replied simply.

The two spent a few moments in deafening silence before Victoria asked, "Do you ever wonder if our families are thinking about us? If they miss us?"

"I wonder how my kids are holding up," Slade whispered with a frown.

"I'm sure someone is looking after them," Victoria reassured him.

"Probably Adeline's sister, Isla. She never really liked me much," Slade growled out.

"Why did you guys not get along?"

"Aren't you just full of questions?" Slade asked with a smirk.

"I'm just curious."

"Well it's a long story," Slade replied taking a deep breath. "Adeline was going out with a successful lawyer right before I came into the picture, Isla and Adeline's parents liked the asshole. He would act like Adeline was an idiot because she hadn't gone to college, treating her beneath him. She was the one to end things between them. This upset her family. So, when she showed up at a family party with me her sister was openly rude to me. That was nothing compared to when Isla found out that Adeline and I were going to have a baby and basically had a shot gun wedding. She was never civil to me again."

"If she hates you so much why would she watch your kids?"

"She would be their nearest living relation. Believe me, if my mom was still around I'd want her to raise them, but it is what it is."

"What are they like your kids I mean," Victoria inquired.

A genuine smile spread across his face and he left out a chuckle, "Well, Grant was the oldest, always a deep thoughtful kid, last I saw him he was in the real angsty age, thirteen. He'd snap at people often, got into fights a lot in school. I remember getting a call from his principal for starting a fight with older boys at his school, they were in grades above him. I had expected to find him all beat up and all he had a small bruise under his right eye, the other two were a lot worse off. I was both proud and disappointed in him that time, impressed that he had managed to hold his ground against older boys but angry that he had caused trouble. He was tall for his age, dark hair and blue eyes. He was a nice-looking kid, but of course, I'm biased. In many ways, he was a slim version of me at that age."

"You were angsty?" Victoria chuckled at the thought and yet she could see it as well.

"I lied about my age so I could join the army at sixteen. By the time my superiors figured it out I was old enough to enlist and was well experienced, so they didn't want to kick me out," Slade explained with a hearty chuckle.

Victoria laughed in response. It wasn't too hard seeing a younger version of Slade faking his age and being able to join the army before he should have.

"You know I can totally see that happening," Victoria remarked in between chuckling. "What about Rose and Joe?"

"Joseph was our middle child. He was so much like Adeline, both in temperament and looks. Though I'd say that he was calmer than my wife was. Of course, last, I saw him he was eleven years old, that kid would read any book that you handed him. He was reading the Harry Potter series then, I told him he should check out the Hobbit, thought he'd like it. I wasn't expecting him to tell me he had finished the book all in one day. Gosh, he had always been a curious thing, even as a baby. I'm hoping he is putting all of that reading to beneficial use, I'm sure he'll get more out of his education than I ever did. I wasn't ever very academic, preferred the army to college. Let me think like I said he looked like a male version of Adeline. He was slim, blonde hair, blue eyes and could always be found with his nose in a book. He also would sing all the time and started learning piano when he was five."

"He sounds like a sweet kid," Victoria commented.

"He was. He would never get into any trouble at school. Unfortunately, he didn't make friends easily because he was shy but at least they weren't the trouble makers that Grant's friends were."

"And Rose?"

Another wide grin spread across Slade's face, "Rose was the youngest. She was always a dad's girl, both Joe and Grant's first words were 'mama' but hers were 'papa'. I remember her shadowing me when she could hardly walk, it was funny to watch. Here I was this six-foot man being followed by a baby crawling on the floor. Gosh, she was adorable. She looked a lot like my mother, same brown eyes, same shaped face but she had Adeline's blonde hair. We'd catch her sometimes when I would try to go on camping trips with just the boys, but she'd always find a way to come too. I hadn't really thought she was ready for them yet but I ended up getting used to her coming too. Grant and Joe would complain about her coming but luckily, she wasn't a complainer so they got used to it. I can't tell you how many times we had to take her to the hospital, she was always pulling crazy stunts. She broke her arm when she was six for climbing to the top of the tree, she had made it half way done again before she fell," Slade recalled, shaking his head at the memory. "I hope she is holding up okay. Gosh, she was only eight when I saw her last. I can't remember much from it but I remember her wrapping her tiny little arms around me tight before I left."

His voice had turned into nothing more than a whisper and he placed a hand over his weary face, "I shouldn't have left them. Did I even tell them how much I loved them?"

Victoria reached out and placed a hand on his shoulder, "You couldn't have known what was going to happen."

"I've already missed three years of their lives. And God only knows how many more years we will be stuck on this island."

Moments passed between them in silence before he broke it once more, "Sorry, that was… that was fatalistic of me. I just… I just don't know how in the hell we are supposed to get off this island."

"It's alright," she replied, squeezing his shoulder gently with her hand.

"Anyway, enough about me. So, besides your sister who else is you looking forward to seeing?"

A smile formed on Victoria's face and she started to tell him about her different friends and different stories about fun and crazy things they did together. She told him about her friendship with the youngest Lance, about how they would go out drinking together with fake IDs. And she told him about her best friend, Abby, and how the two of them would often get into trouble while in college. The two of them had met in dance when they were young and had been friends ever since. In talking about her best friend and their adventures, Slade came to the decision that her friend had been a fiery brunette with a glint in her warm brown eyes that gave away just how much trouble she was. It made him smile that Victoria had a friend that meant so much to her. So, it wasn't that surprising that in the back of his mind he couldn't wait to meet this friend, see how Victoria would light up around her.

#

Meanwhile, it was early in the evening as Shado and Oliver were walking through the forest, Shado kept a sharp eye out for Billy Wintergreen but didn't see any signs of the Australian anywhere. He must be hiding, Shado thought, keeping an eye out nonetheless. Oliver had asked Shado to teach him how to hunt and they were walking towards a good spot that offered a lot of game. He looked around a bit but was focusing most of his attention on Shado. She was tense and he could tell from her body language alone that she was on high alert.

"You've been rather quiet," Oliver commented, breaking the silence.

"I'm making sure Billy isn't spying on us," Shado explained.

Oliver looked around, there weren't any animals to be seen or heard. Slowly he pulled out his bow as Shado continued to look around nervously. "Hey, aren't we supposed to be hunting birds? I don't hear any," Oliver commented.

"It's too quiet," Shado replied.

She slowly scanned the terrain, in the corner of her eye she saw a quick movement. Then she heard a twig break a few feet beside them, by a large bush. Locking eyes with Oliver she nodded her head towards the scrub, he looked at her in concern as she readied her bow, training it at the bush.

"Come out, Billy, I know you're in there!" Shado shouted in that direction.

Out of the bush emerged a large gray wolf with snarling fangs, a growl that rumbled its body and that sent a shiver down Oliver's back. They had to get out of here, Oliver thought. A howl sounded somewhere in the background. They needed to run, he panicked. He turned around and was ready to run. But before he could get more than a few feet in front of him he ran into Shado just as she was about to let loose an arrow into the large creature. Instead of it hitting its target it landed a few inches away from the beast. Oliver was laying on top of Shado when the wolf lunged for Shado, without thinking Oliver picked up his disregarded bow on Shado's stomach and batted at the wolf's head. The wolf turned his full attention on Oliver, looking angry and Oliver blocked the wolf's attack just in time before the beast snapped its fangs at him. Meanwhile, Shado fumbled with her belt sheath that held her medium size hunting knife, built to skin game, she tried not to lose her head as Oliver managed to keep the wolf away from his face, but he staggered when the wolf started to claw at his arms, he muffled a cry. Finally, she got a good grasp on the blades handle before she lunged it into the wolf's left shoulder, the animal let out a loud yelp before it becomes limp. Oliver had to lift the creature off himself, he got to his feet and offered a hand to Shado. In the distance, they could hear more wolves getting closer. Shado got to her feet, straightened up and got her bow ready to shoot at the next wolf that came at them. Oliver looked at her in disbelief.

In front of them were a pack of wolves, Shado could only see two clearly but knew that more weren't far behind them. Besides her, Oliver fumbled with his bow and nearly dropped it as he prepared to shoot at one of the approaching wolves. Too soon he let one of his arrows fly, it only seemed to angrier the wolf more as it landed a few inches away from it. Oliver gulped hard as he fumbled to ready another arrow. Shado waited for just a second more before she released her arrow and it found its target into the wolf's shoulder blade, a yelp was heard as the animal staggered to get back up, one of the other wolves leaped over the fallen beast and Oliver let out another arrow, this time landing on the wolf's hind leg, this slowed the beast down but it didn't take long before it was back up. Shado sent an arrow to the beast's left side and it fell and didn't rise again. Finally, the other raised from its wound and got dangerously close. Oliver sent an arrow flying into the beast and he let out a breath of relief when it didn't move again. A little bit of a distance away from them more wolves were coming closer.

Quickly Shado picked up a large log off the ground, placed her bow on her back and held her hunting knife in her hands. Oliver looking at her confused before he watched as she started to run, "Run!"

Oliver didn't need to be told twice as he followed her with a bow in one hand and an arrow in the other. The wind was rushing past Shado as she tried her best to keep up a fast pace. She knew she could outrun them but they needed some way to have the upper hand in fighting them. Damn! I wish we had some backup, Shado thought as she continued to keep up her fast pace. There was a pain in her side from the speed but she didn't even dare think about stopping, they had to keep running.

They were a good distance away from the angry wolves when Shado tripped on a large log. She landed on her hands and knees instead of on her face and she quickly turned around to defend herself. Oliver continued running over to her and bent down to help her up. He offered his hand to her which she took, they got to their feet but the query was dangerously close, Oliver stood ready to attack and fight to protect Shado when a loud battle cry sounded behind them and they saw a towering figure lung at one of the beasts. They were surprised to see that it wasn't their friend Slade but rather their enemy, Billy Wintergreen.

Shado recovered faster than Oliver and fought, the blonde Australian fought off another one of the wolves. Oliver snapped out of his surprise and he rallied to fight alongside Shado. The beast looked close to overpowering her when he stabbed his arrow into the animal's shoulder. Shado finished the wolf off by lunging her hunting knife up through the wolf's head, it fell limply to the ground and its blood pooled onto the forest floor.

Besides them, Billy had managed to already kill off the wolf he had been fighting. Shado looked ahead and saw the remaining wolves retreating. She let out a sigh of relief.

She turned her attention to Billy and noticed he had a smug smile on his face as he wiped the blood off his blade. Shado hesitatingly stepped towards him. Oliver looked at the man with an unreadable expression.

"Thank you," Shado said to the tall Australian.

"Looked like you guys were heavily outnumbered," Billy replied.

"How did you know we were in trouble?" Oliver asked. He was suspicion the large blonde. This man had tortured him, he'd never trust him.

"I was out doing some hunting, heard the recuse, thought I'd find out what it was. Load and behold I see you being chased by wolves," Billy replied with another smug smile.

"Well we are in your debt," Shado answered.

"I know," Billy simply stated. "And I mean to cash in on it."

"What do you want, Billy?" Oliver growled out between clenched teeth, his jaw tight.

"Breath Queen, nothing too crazy," Billy supplied, raising his hands in fake surrender.

"Just spit it out," Shado remarked.

"Well thanks to your buddy Slade I've had a challenging time hunting," Billy explained, pointing to his bandaged leg. "I'm only asking for is a percent of your rations."

"No way!" Oliver declared, looking outraged.

"Could you give us a moment?" Shado asked as she stepped closer to Oliver.

The Australian nodded his head and Shado pulled Oliver out of hearing range.

"You can't be seriously considering his offer?" Oliver asked in disbelief.

"Oliver, he just saved our lives," Shado reasoned.

"He tortured me! He tortured you!"

"I know that! I know that. But we owe him a debt."

"You know as well as I that he can't be trusted," Oliver cautioned.

"I'm aware, but we don't have a choice. I don't like this any more than you do. And don't think for a second that I trust him," she admitted.

"I don't like this," Oliver growled.

"Hey, look at me," Shado replied, forcing Oliver's chin up, "It's going to be okay. It's only a little bit of our food."

"Yes, our food. Not that bastard's."

"Oliver…" Shado warned.

"Fine, but you're talking to him."

Shado nodded in agreement and stepped closer to the tall Australian.

"It's a deal," she declared.

"Glad to hear it. Just place tomorrow's portion by my cave. I'm sure Victoria or Slade will be able to show you to it," Billy replied arrogantly.

Oliver sent a glare at the man that only caused the tall blonde with smirk wider and then Billy strode past them. Not paying either of them more attention. Waiting until he was complete of sight Oliver moved closer to Shado and looked at her closely. She looked a like out of breath and a little cut up. Oliver cupped her face, lightly touching a cut on her cheek with his fingers.

"Are you okay?" Oliver asked in concern.

Shado smiled, "I'm okay."

Oliver looked her up and down for any more injuries. Shado scanned him and frowned when she saw the deep cuts across his arms. "I'll need to bandage those when we get back to camp," she commented, gesturing to them.

Oliver looked down at them and shrugged. He had was more warned about her than himself. "I'm sorry I nearly got us killed," he apologized.

"Which time are you referring to?" Shado asked playfully.

Oliver let out a humorless chuckle, "When I ran into you. I shouldn't have tried to run."

"You were scared, it's a natural response," Shado defended.

"Well, I'm sorry I put you in further danger."

Oliver leaned in closer to Shado and she didn't hesitate when she closed the gap between them. She was surprised at how rough Oliver's lips had become in the weeks since last, she kissed him but decided silently that she liked them better that way. It started to become more passionate as he licked her lips and she allowed his tongue entrance to her mouth. He was intoxicating to her, she wanted more of him but something in the back of her mind pulled her back. Laurel, she reminded herself. Then she was pulling away from him suddenly. Oliver looked out of breath and he let out a sigh of contentment, he had a smile on his face before he opened his eyes and noticed Shado's concerned face.

"What's wrong?" he asked her.

"You have a girlfriend waiting back home for you," she stated.

Oliver realized then that they hadn't talked about his relationship with Laurel for months. And that Shado probably thought he was still waiting to be reunited with his old girlfriend. Looking down at her, she was looking at her feet and pulled away from him. Gently he grabbed her arm and pulled her closer to him.

"Shado," he breathed.

"Oliver, you don't… you don't have to…" she started. "I understand."

"No," he stated. "Please, Shado look at me."

She continued looking down at her feet. Oliver placed a hand on her chin and tilted it up so that she was eye level with him.

"Shado, I want to give us a chance," Oliver professed.

"But… but what about your girlfriend?" Shado asked, her eyes misting over with unshed tears.

"I'm sure she is trying to get over me. Shado, I want to give us a real chance here. I care about you a lot. I was so worried when you were in danger. Please… I want this," Oliver confessed.

Shado smiled up at him, a single tear rolling down her cheek and she closed the space between them and captured his lips with her own. As they pulled away they both let out a contented sigh and Oliver place his forehead on her own.

"So, I'll take that as a yes?" he asked playfully.

Shado chuckled and nodded, Oliver reached out his hand and wiped the tears off her face, placing a quick kiss to her lips.

They pulled apart and hand in hand they made their way back to the camp together.

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 **Please favorite, follow and review!**


	18. Chapter 18

**Hello guys! I know it has been a long time since I updated this story. The last year was a little crazy for me. And I was focusing on different stories. I wrote this chapter a while ago. I have other ideas for this story. So I haven't abandoned it, just put it on the backburner. I've been missed Toria and Slade a lot lately! As always I want to thank each and every one of you that have followed, favorited and reviewed this story!**

 **orthankg1** **: Thank you for your review!**

 **josephguy217: Thank you for your review! Hope you also enjoy this chapter! Looking forward to reading your thoughts!**

 **GiggleboxGirlie** **: Thank you so much for your review! It truly inspired this chapter! I know it has been ages but I hope you'll still really enjoy this chapter! Can not wait for your thoughts on it!**

 **FeralG3: Thank you for your review! It's funny I keep going back and forth with weather to kill Shado or not. We shall see what I end up pitting for my story.**

 **skye-speedy** **: Thank you for your review!**

* * *

The Other Queen

Chapter 18

Lian Yu 2008

The air was becoming warmer as the early morning chill gave way into the beginnings of the afternoon heat. Victoria took a deep breath and got herself into the first position. She had always been able to focus and lose herself as she danced ballet. These days she didn't often feel like she had the time or privacy to dance. If it was not Oliver asking her for help, it was Slade or Shado showing her new fighting techniques or food that needed to be skinned and cooked. However, Shado was inside training Oliver and Slade was somewhere hunting. She thought she'd allow herself to have this small pleasure.

Moving into the third position and then into fourth, it wasn't long before she was getting so caught up in the movements and how her body just completely relaxed she didn't notice any other thing around her. Oh, how much I've missed this feeling, she thought as she let out a sigh of contentment. Taking a slow bow, she stopped all her movement, in the distance, she heard a single person clapping and looked up at the source, it was Slade smiling down at her and clapping. Victoria looked up at him in shock, quickly straightened up and looking at him with an intense expression that he couldn't read. Her gaze fell to his feet at the game besides his feet.

"I don't believe I've ever seen you dance before," Slade remarked, his smile small but beaming.

"I thought you were still out hunting," Victoria responded as if he hadn't said anything.

Slade looked awkwardly down at his feet and then back up at Victoria, "Well I'm back."

"Obliviously," Victoria retorted.

Slade looked at her confused, opening his mouth to make a comment he then found himself closing it again. Victoria looked at his clearly confused face, she let out a sigh and ran a hand through her hair. I shouldn't be upset with him. He had no idea that I just wanted some alone time, she berated herself. Looking up at him again she noticed he was about to turn and leave, "I shouldn't have been so cold. You just caught me off guard."

Her words stilled him and it didn't take long before he was turning back in her direction. Victoria offered a small smile to which he replied by placing a hand over his tired eyes and running it through his tangled dark hair.

Victoria could see the small circles under his eyes and she made her way towards him until she was standing right in front of him. His figure towered over her and yet she felt comforted by this fact, not fearful of him. How different than how she had first felt in his company. Well, I've learned to trust him, she thought fondly, a smile spreading across her face. Looking up at him she saw a smile forming at just the corners of his mouth and he moved in closer to her. "What?" he asked, his voice low and husky.

"I was thinking back to when we first met," she said honestly.

Slade looked at her in surprise and then replied, "You were so scared… And yet… And yet you tried your hardest not to let me see it."

Victoria let out a small, unflattering snort and shook her head in agreement, "I was terrified."

"And yet you hid it more than Oliver," he remarked.

"But I was no less scared than him."

"I'm sorry," Slade said, looking down at his feet.

"You didn't know what was going to happen. None of us did," Victoria replied.

As he looked up, Victoria could see the look of confusion and gratitude.

"I can't blame you for how you acted then," she continued.

With an unreadable expression, he moved closer to her, Victoria thought he was going to close the space between them and kiss her when they heard Oliver say behind them, "Oh good you're back."

Slade and Victoria nearly jumped apart and when Victoria looked over at Slade she could see just how annoyed he was with the younger man, Victoria almost felt sorry for Oliver, almost. Oliver looked over at them and at their annoyed/guilty expressions and couldn't help but feel like he had walked in on something that he shouldn't have. Awkwardly he turned around back at towards camp. But it was too late, the moment had already passed.

###########################################

Victoria was just sitting in her small corner of the room on her makeshift bed, sharpening her sword and making sure it shined beautifully. She ran the rock across it once more and looked closely at the blade, it's looked sharp. So, she cleaned it off carefully with a cloth and then placed it back into its holder. A smile spread across her face at the feeling of pride for her expanding skills increased. Only about a year ago she couldn't have ever thought she'd even be able to wield a sword, let alone be able to sharpen and care for it.

Less than two years ago she was still in her spoiled life of money and rich society. I would never have even guessed where I'd be today. A bittersweet smile formed at the corners of her mouth. Who would I be if I had stayed? She couldn't help but wonder. Looking over as Slade doing pull-ups on 'the pole' and she admired his physique silently. You wouldn't have met him. Would I have still been pining away for Tommy? Still, be wishing that he could have been the boy I had fallen in love with all those years ago? He still probably hasn't changed. Just the same Tommy as the one you left behind. He was never going to grow up for you. You were a hopeless fool for thinking otherwise, she berated herself. In all honesty, though, she didn't think she would have been very happy with Tommy. They wouldn't have made each other happy. Not that he would have ever asked her out in the first place. He probably still thought of her as a little sister, not at all like girlfriend material. Looking over at Slade once more, she knew that she was happier with him than she could have ever been with Tommy. Slade was a mature man that protected and respected her. Whereas Tommy was an immature boy who still didn't know how a treat or deal with a committed relationship. Maybe one day he'll grow up, she reminded herself. But I'm glad I didn't give him my heart for him to play with.

The air suddenly felt uncomfortably hot as she sat in the wrecked plane, she got up from her spot and walked out of the camp. Taking a deep breath she felt already cooler as a chilly breeze swept past her, it was getting close to sunset. In the distance, the sun's light was streaming through the trees and Victoria let out a sigh of contentment. It wasn't ideal, but for some reason, she was here. And at this moment, she didn't mind. Of course, she wanted to get back home. To see her sister Thea, to see her mom, to see Abby, hell even to see Tommy again. But in this rare moment, she felt like she was at peace. And be as it may, she felt like she should be here, on this island and this moment. She didn't know why. Maybe it was because of Slade. Maybe it was because she felt like she had found a missing part of herself. Perhaps in losing herself, she had only found her true self.

A twig broke behind her and Victoria was on high alert when she turned around and faced her intruder, it was only Oliver. He gave her a forced smile as he walked towards her, it didn't take long before he was standing right beside her. "I thought I'd get some fresh air before it gets too dark," Oliver explained.

"Yeah, the air was getting thick in there," Victoria remarked as she gestured to the wrecked plane.

"Mind if I give you some company?" Oliver asked her.

"Sure."

The two just stood there in awkward silence as the older of the two tried to think of something to say. Oliver knew that he wanted to talk about something with her. However, he had no idea what. Several moments passed in this silence until Victoria broke it with a smile on her face and a chuckle. Oliver turned towards her in confusion with a smile on his face and he asked, "What?"

"I was just thinking about Tommy," she supplied.

"Yeah? What were you thinking about him?"

"I was just remembering a time when he asked me out when he was drunk," Victoria explained.

Oliver looked at her in shock. He didn't know that Tommy had ever asked her out and he voiced this.

"Well in many ways he never did."

This confused the oldest Queen even more, "What do you mean?"

"I mean he was drunk. It wasn't like he meant it."

Oliver still looked at her in confusion but shook his head in agreement. How had he never known that his best friend had asked his sister on a date? How come he had never heard this talked about from either of them. "Do you want to tell me about it?" Oliver asked. He was honestly more than a little curious now.

"You sure you want to hear about it?"

"Yeah," Oliver started. "I mean unless it involves you and Tommy… You know."

Victoria laughed at his disgusted face at the idea. She knew what he meant. He was worried that they had had sex. "No nothing like that," she reassured him. His face instantly relaxed and he offered her a forced smile. I didn't even count on how Oliver would have reacted if I had gone out with Tommy, she realized. Not that I would have probably given a damn then.

Giving herself a moment to collect her thoughts she then began, "We were at a club, somewhere in the Glades. I can't remember the name of the place. I went there with Sara, we had our fake IDs and she was talking to this cute, tall blonde at the bar, trying to get him to buy her a drink I think. Anyway, Tommy comes in with this beautiful redhead, I mean like model beautiful. At first, things seemed fine between the two, they were dancing, having lots of drinks. But a little while later I notice her storm pass the bar and head out the door, she looked ready to kill someone. Not long later Tommy comes over with a smile on his face commenting that girls get jealous too easily. He just sat there he ordered a drink for himself and another for me. We were just talking and enjoying each other's company. It didn't take me long to figure out that by this point he was already drunk. He started talking about his mom and how happy his dad had been then. Talking about how he doubted that he'd ever find someone like that for himself. I told him that he would and that he just needed to keep looking. This made him smile like an idiot and then he started telling me that I was a great person. He said I was a sweet and great person. I smiled and agreed with him. I mean who argues with a drunk guy?

Oliver shook his head in agreement and waited for Victoria to finish the story.

"Well then, he started telling me that I was pretty, like really pretty. 'I don't think I've ever noticed how pretty you are before,' I remember him slurring. And then he was asking if I'd like to go out with him. I declined nicely. He seemed annoyed but that he was sure to convince me otherwise. 'Don't you think I'm a nice and hot guy? I mean I think I'm a pretty hot guy,' was another thing he said. I made sure he got a cab home and we never talked about it again. I'm not sure if he remembers any of it. And if he does he has never brought it up," Victoria concluded.

"Wow! That's a hell of a story," Oliver remarked. "Now I've got to know something. Would… would you have gone out with him if he had asked when he was sober?"

Victoria looked up at him in surprise at the directness of the question and she avoided his stare. And at that moment Oliver realize that he had been too stupid not to notice that his younger sister had a crush on his best friend. He opened his mouth to say something only to close it again. It all made sense now, though. How everytime Tommy brought a girlfriend over they were never good enough or how annoyed she was when he had ever gotten himself and Tommy in trouble. She had liked his best friend and he had been so caught up in himself that he hadn't ever even noticed.

"I'm sorry, I never realize," Oliver started.

"No, it's fine. I just… I just really don't want to talk about it though," Victoria replied.

Oliver shook his head in understanding but there was still a question he wanted to ask her. It was a question he didn't think she would even answer him honestly right now though. Before he could even voice it, she was turning away from him and heading back to the camp. He thought about stopping her but decided that he should give her some space. However, it didn't stop his mind echoing that one question that stayed unanswered, did she still like him like that?


	19. Chapter 19

**Hello, all my lovely readers! I said I missed Slade and Toria and I just had to write this chapter because I need more scenes with them. Life has been crazy busy for me so I can't promise when I'll post again. I'm still working on peeling off wallpaper and then painting my room. Good news is that I have written other chapter for this story. So fear not! I will be updating this story again when life calms down again. As always I want to thank everyone who has followed, favorited and reviewed!**

 **josephguy217: Thank you for your review! You rock! Hope this will be another chapter that you like!**

 **swinglrm: Thank you so much for reviewing! I try my best! So glad that you love it! I wanted to add different twists and turns that people wouldn't expect so overjoyed that you enjoy them! I always try to write Slade in character and I can literally see the circles under his eyes by the fact that Billy is still alive in my AU! I know! I love Slade so much (shush, don't tell, but I actually like him more than Oliver ;)) and I wanted to write him paired with someone that I thought would work well with him!**

 **GiggleboxGirlie: Thank you for your amazing review! You are just so awesome! Yup, you should be careful what you ask of me ;) I will give you what you want, but not really ;) I love making Oliver the one who almost always walks in on them, it is extremely realistic to me. Brothers always mess up the romance, even if they don't mean to. Well, maybe I'll have another dancing scene… maybe I won't, you'll just have to see!**

 **Wow, I can not begin to tell you how much it makes my heart melt that you ship Toria and Slade so much! And it sounds like you are going to riot if I don't have them together soon. All I can say is keep reading to see how our lovelies are doing! Can't wait to hear your thoughts on this chapter.**

 **TheWayofLife-447: Thank you so much for your review! I am thrilled that you love this story! Yes I will be continuing it! Life is just a little crazy right now so chapters will be slowly updated! That is an amazing question, one you will have to read to find out! Please let me know what your thought are for this chapter!**

* * *

 **The Other Queen**

 **Chapter 19**

 **Lian Yu 2008**

Slade was out days after, hunting, it was just him, nature and the comfortable seat that was the tree that he was hiding out in. His mind wandered to when Toria had unknowingly danced in front of him. The look on her face was peaceful, calm and it brought a smile to his face remembering that unguarded moment. He knew she almost always put up a front, would pull that mask back down on her face. But at that moment, she was completely and undescribable beautiful.

It honestly hurt though, that she kept pushing him back. Every time he opened up or tried to show her that he was here for her, that he didn't judge her, that he loved her, he watched her shut him down. She probably doesn't realize she does it, he reminded himself. But perhaps I should stop giving so much and see what she wants? But how was he going to change the way he felt about her? Not changing it, just showing it less. Wait to see what it is she wants. But she is only twenty-one, maybe she doesn't know what she wants? I love her. And I want her love in return. But how to go about that?

The rustle of leaves got him out of his thoughts, a large bird was in the cage that he had set up. Jumping down from the tree, he grabbed the cage. It was going to make them a good dinner.

######################################################################

Victoria let out an audible sigh, gazing out into space she let her mind wander. Her mind just kept replaying how short she had been with Slade just a couple of days ago. Why did you do that, you idiot? she berated herself. You really like him and you yelled at him! For basically cheering you on! No, you're not an idiot, you're an asshole!

"Wow, if you don't watch it your frown face will be your all the time face," Oliver remarked.

Victoria glared at him, not happy that he had to call attention to her musings. Oliver looked unfazed and sat down next to her by the fire.

"So what were you thinking about?"

"The many ways in which I could possibly kill you. There are a lot of them."

"Haha, very funny," Oliver replied sarcastically. "Honestly though, what were you thinking about?"

"Why does it matter so much to you?"

Oliver sighed and ran a hand through his dirty, blonde hair, "Look Toria, I know we haven't been that close in the past. I know that I am partly to blame for that. And the way I see it, time is something we have a lot of so… I think we should talk and you know, work on our relationship."

Victoria's mouth dropped and for a couple of moments, she simply stared at her brother. We are basically trying not to get killed on this island and he is worried about our sibling relationship!? Opening her mouth to give him a rude reply, she paused, she saw the look in his eyes, the flicker of hope. He really wants this. Letting out a deep sigh, she ran a hand down her face and pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Please Toria, give me a chance," he whispered.

Shaking her head with a chuckle, "Okay Ollie, alright."

"So… What were you thinking about?"

"Gosh, you aren't going to let that go, are you? How about we work our way up to that?"

Several moments passed between them in silence. Until Oliver started to chuckle.

"What?"

"We haven't really talked since we were young. Remember when I was 7 and we still used to play together. Gosh, life was easier back then," Oliver added with a chuckle.

"Haha. Yeah, I remember. We used to dress up in western customs and pretend to be cowboys. You'd always were the sheriff or the head thief."

"Yeah, I remember that. I blame it on dad showing us so many episodes of old western shows and movies."

"You thought you were as cool as John Wayne, haha."

"Yeah, he was pretty cool when I was seven."

"It was so weird when you were nine you started thinking all that stuff was and I quote 'lame'," using her index fingers as quotation marks.

"Of course, I kind of started watching other stupid shows. Then I stopped caring about shows at all really. Always had better things to do. I miss when we used to watch reruns of Bonanza."

"Then we were both teenagers. Stopped talking like we used to. You were a complete jerk in high school. Seemed like every other week you had a new girlfriend. Then you were illegally drinking at parties. Chasing after girls with Tommy, you both talking them up about how rich you were."

"You drank at parties too," Oliver pointed out. "But you're right, I was a complete jerk back then. I used to snap at you everytime you tried to talk to me. I'm sorry."

"I forgive you. You were in high school. Being a jerk comes with the territory. I was very…"

"Grumpy," Oliver supplied.

"Yeah and the angry teen. Gosh, I was a handful too. Mom and Dad had no idea what they were doing with us."

"Well, we are their first two children. Hopefully, Mom knows more of what she is doing with Thea."

"I won't hold your breath," Toria replied with a sigh.

"Why is your relationship with Mom so bad? Was it just about her not letting you study in France or Russia?"

Letting out a sigh and running a hand through her, filthy, blonde hair, "That was what started it all. But no, it wasn't just about that. It was how Mom organized everything. For my own sweet sixteen, I wasn't able to wear the dress I wanted to, instead, she forced me to wear something else."

"Is that all?"

"No, Oliver. It also has to do with the fact that since I was sixteen years old, Mom has wanted me to pair up with a good business partner, or doctor, or a lawyer. She'd set me up with each of her friends' sons, hoping that one of us would hit it off. She was using me as a bargaining chip."

"She tried to pair me up like that too, you know?"

"But she was always easier on you. She allowed you more freedom."

"I'm sorry, Toria."

"It isn't your fault."

"But clearly, you're still upset about it."

"Because it was always like that. I know it isn't your fault. I just… Just wish Mom had just accepted me more. And listened to what I wanted, like she did with you."

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Slowly she walked through the trees and soon felt the hard, sharp rocks underneath her shoes. Soon she was standing in front of two mounds of stone upon the hill, two graves. Carefully heading towards Robert Queen's grave she knelt in front and gently placed a hand on the cold, damp, stone covering her father.

"I miss you, dad. I know you weren't always perfect, but I did truly love you. Honestly, I'm not entirely sure why I'm here. I've just been so confused. I think I love him, Slade I mean. But things aren't ideal and I'm worried that I'll just end up disappointing him. Gosh, I wish I could at least talk to you about him. Not that you were ever very good with this stuff either. I'm not even sure if you can hear me right now. But… but I guess I'd like to know if by seeing my face when I'm around him or how I talk about him… if you think I love him too. You were always so good at figuring me out even when I was confusing myself," wiping tears from her cheeks.

Several moments passed, tears continued to run down her cheek and off her chin. Words flooded her mind but she hardly knew what to say. Is it honestly better to let all of this out? There was a fear of making the words becoming more real speaking them. And how to say it? How would she say it to him if he was standing beside her?

"Dad, why did you die for me?" she whispered, as though afraid of anyone else hearing her. "I am grateful... it's just… You shouldn't have had to make that choice. If I hadn't been there. If I was home like I was supposed to be… both you and Oliver would have survived. I'm so sorry, Dad. I shouldn't have… I'm sorry. It was supposed to be you, not me."

Bowing her head, sobs shaking through her body, her palms digging into the sharp stone to steady herself. The guilt, the confusion racked through her body and soul. She just wanted him there; to hold her, to tell her that she was going to be okay. That he forgave her for living while he was gone, a body underneath the stones, but he wasn't truly there anymore. He wasn't here anymore, and she was left. Left to figure out what to do now.

Back home, life had been a series of adventures. She could easily get by with half-ass plans. Taking responsibility after for her actions had become something she had learned to be very good at. But on this island, you had to make decisions and they had to be good ones. It was a matter of life and death now. She couldn't just wing it anymore.

What if I do love Slade? What if I don't? Could it just be lust? Or perhaps loneliness? Would they even be able to make it work? They were so different. Yet so similar. Sure things seemed to be going good, here on the island, but when they got back home would it be the same? Or would they break? Just as easily as her parents seemingly had? She wanted so much to make sure this thing was right. But she just wasn't sure. Can Slade make me happy and do I want to make him truly happy? Is that what I want? She knew she liked it when he made her happy but that wasn't the same as wanting to make him happy. What if she failed him? What if instead, she'd only manage to break his heart and hers. What if. What if. Words started swimming in her mind. Turning into a mantra of "I'm not good enough. You have no idea what you are doing. He'll tire of you."

Tears blurred her vision once more. Hastily she pinched the bridge of her nose to clear them. Trying to shake the negative thoughts from her mind. Shutting her eyes tightly. Memories of Slade's bright smile directed towards her, his arms open wide as she grieved over Yao Fei's death, his look of concern when he had awoken her from a nightmare, his devilish smirk, his deep and warm laugh. A smile tugged at the corner of her lips as she soaked up the memories. The small little moments away from the terror and hardship of the island. Moments that he had lightened up for her. Could I be that for him too? Do I want to be? Yes. I think I do.

A rustling of leaves from a few feet away from where she knelt. Within seconds she was silently pulling out the knife that she kept in her sock, after getting attacked by Billy she never left the camp without it. Pretending that her attention was directed towards the graves she waited until the figure was right beside her before she pulls her knife on them, looking up her eyes landed on Slade. His eyes pointed to the blade in her hand then making eye contact, a small smirk was plastered on his face and his eyes shone with a hint of pride. Carefully she placed the blade back into her shoe and turned towards the handsome Australian.

"When you weren't back for lunch I got worried and went looking for you," he explained.

"I've been here for a while now."

"It is still dangerous to go out by yourself,' he reminded.

Of course, the threat of Billy Wintergreen ever hanging over their heads. Another one of my faults.

"I know. I just… I just needed a moment to myself. It has been pretty crowded feeling in the camp lately."

Slade nodded in agreement.

"Perhaps ask someone just to keep watch?" he suggested.

She nodded, half-heartedly. Shado had been training when Victoria had slipped away, Oliver was tending to the fire for their lunch and Slade was out hunting like most days. It hadn't crossed her mind to ask anyone to follow her and watch her back. The last thing she wanted was someone around for the last half hour. I don't need them seeing me weak. They need me strong. And she needed the privacy.

Slade walked towards her and sat on the ground next to her. His voice soft and husky as he remarked, "When you weren't in your usual haunts, I figured I might find you here."

"Yeah, well I needed a moment. Come to think of it, I haven't been here since Yao Fei's funeral…" her voice trailing off.

"I stayed away from my wife's grave for months. Couldn't bare it at first. But soon… soon it was one of the first places I went to when I got home from one of my missions. Honestly, I think it helped me grieve in a more healthy and steady way. Just me and my grief, no one to see me so undone."

Another way they were similar. It was great having him let her in like this. She knew how hard it was for him. Neither of them was good at these kinds of things.

"I miss him," she whispered, just loud enough for him to hear her as well.

Slowly he nodded his head. Waiting to see what else she wanted to say. His eyes met hers, tears were gathering in the corner of her eyes, threatening to spill over. Quietly, he reached out a hand to hers and gently squeezed it.

"He wasn't always perfect. But he was a loving father. I used to think the world of him when I was younger. He could do no wrong in my eyes these days. He used to understand me better than anyone else. It was like he always knew what I was thinking. He was wonderful at encouraging me to follow my passions. He even wore a tutu once to help me practice. It was pink."

Slade let out a deep laugh and a smile appeared on Victoria's face from the memory and the merry sound.

"I thought he was the smartest man in the entire world. I'd ask him a million questions and he'd normally answer it or looked it up and told me about what he had found out about a topic. As you already know, I have never been very close to my mother. I never felt like she fully accepted me or understood me. Whereas, dad made me feel like he took me as I was. He was my hero. Until the day he wasn't anymore."

A questioning look flicker on Slade's face.

"My dad… he wasn't always faithful to my mom."

A look of shock flashed across Slade's face, quickly to be replaced with a look of understanding. Victoria nodded her head and looked awkwardly down at her lap, unable to look him in the eye. Her hand separating from his. Several seconds passed before she was able to speak again.

"I wasn't supposed to know about it. One day, Mom was going to be home late from the office, Oliver was doing whatever Oliver did in those days, I was supposed to be home late. My dance class canceled, so I was home earlier than I normally would have been. He was on the couch…," she paused, her eyes still focused on her lap.

"Jesus, that must have been…"

"Mortifying, yeah. I recognized her, she worked for my father's company. Pretty, brunette, pouty lip, big boobed bitch. I hadn't liked her when I first had met her. My father had apologized over and over again. He made me promise not to tell Oliver or Thea. I was furious. It is surprising but he didn't justify his actions to me. Never told me that what he was doing wasn't wrong. Like other father's have sometimes done. I was so angry with him. I'd hardly speak to him. I tried to keep a good distance away from him. I blamed him. I blamed the bitch he was sleeping with. I blamed my mother. I'm not sure how long it took but I remember being so upset and confused I marched into his office and yelled at him. I hadn't really ever had done that before. Yell at my father," she explained. "He just sat there, looking ashamed and upset. I still remember the tears rolling down his cheeks and how red his cheeks were. Yet he just sat there and waited until I had gotten all my anger out. I remember the look on his face and he reached out to hold me… but I pushed him away. He looked so broken but I was so angry. And confused."

Her tears had returned and her eyes landed on the stone mound that covered her father's grave.

"He must have said he was sorry a million times," her voice husky as she wiped a tear from her cheek. "Then he told me… he told me he wasn't going to see her anymore. He promised that he'd stop seeing Isabel. At first, I didn't believe him. Thought he was lying but… he stopped being gone so much. Started being around the house more. But… but it was never the same between us after that. Sure he tried to build our relationship again and it wasn't always awkward. But I knew what had happened. I knew one of his faults. And it made me feel like my entire life had been a lie. That the loving family I thought I had never existed, to begin with. I know it is common in my family circles but I thought our family was different. Thought he loved us enough not to do that."

Slade waited for her to pause and inched closer to her. Hesitantly, he reached for her hand. Her eyes still refused to look up. Gently he lifted her chin, her eyes finally found his. Without another word, she leaned towards him and let out a sob. Wrapping his arms around her, he allowed her to fall apart in his arms. He wanted to tell her that it was alright or that it wasn't her fault but he remained silent. Her tears completely drenched the top of his black tank top. Her hand grasped tightly around his shoulders, trying, and failing to steady herself. Slowly she sightly pulled away, but Slade kept his arms loosely around her.

"Gosh, I'm crying like a baby," she muttered, "I probably sound so naive and stupid."

"It isn't stupid, Victoria," he replied.

His eyes were warm and genuine. She offered him a watery smile and quietly wrapped her arms around him again.

"Thank you," she whispered.

A giant smile spread across his face and he tightened their embrace.

"You're welcome," he whispered back.

His voice comforting and the beating of his heart making her relax.

"You aren't stupid for wanting a normal and happy family. I think we all are looking for some sort of stability. It is human. It doesn't make you weak or naive," he said.

"But I should have seen what was going on. There were signs but I didn't want to put them together."

"Toria…"

"He must have been doing that for months but I never…"

"Toria, it isn't your fault. Your father made a mistake but that isn't your fault."

"But…"

"You didn't do anything wrong."

Gently, he cupped her face and wiped the tears remaining on her cheeks with his thumb. Leaning closer towards her and placed a chaste kiss on her forehead. Then she rested her forehead upon his. Opening her eyes she quickly took in his thick, dark lashes fanned on his cheeks. Closing them again, she breathed in his scent, sweat, metal and faintly like the plain soap they had back at camp, they were oddly comforting. Just like his presence.

"It is alright to be weak sometimes. It is alright to open up," he whispered.

"But I have to be strong," she tried to argue.

"Your only human, Toria. And I'm here for you if you ever need me."

She stared up into his eyes. And placed a kiss on his cheek.

"Thank you," she breathed out.

She rested her head on his shoulder and let out a sigh. Placing a hand on his other shoulder, she looked up sheepishly and said, "I'm sorry I made your shirt all wet."

He let out a deep chuckle, "That's alright. I'm just glad you made good use of it."

A blush colored her cheeks rosy pink and she offered him a sweet smile.

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	20. Chapter 20

**Hello, lovely readers! Life has still been crazy busy but I had time to grammar check this story and now I want to bring you one of my favorite chapters I have written for this story. I hope you all enjoy it too!**

 **Merle's girl26** **: Thank you for your review! I love your profile pic btw ;) He is rather handsome with longer hair and leather. I hope you also love this chapter as well!**

 **swingrlm: Thank you so very much for your review! Always love seeing my readers return! Well, if you loved the last chapter because of a lot of Toria and Slade I think you'll be overjoyed about this one! Yeah, fanfiction is awesome. Though sometimes weird. ;) From the moment that Slade was on the screen I have completely loved his character. I don't like all the choices that the show has made but I think Menu has shone in every scene that he is in. He really is dreamy, isn't he? *sigh* I was tired of how Slade can't be happy at all so this is what I decided to do! Honestly, I think him and Toria are great together.**

 **Thank you! I might take you up on that offer! Well, the wait is over! Hopefully, you like this chapter! Please let me know what you think in the comments!**

* * *

 **The Other Queen**

 **Chapter 20**

 **Lian Yu 2008**

It felt refreshing to be under a blanket of stars in the night air and a roaring fire. Shado was sitting next to Oliver and they were talking, they were supposed to be on watch, but Toria figured they also were just enjoying each other's company. Shado will be able to do both. Slade was adding fuel to the fire. Victoria hugged her arms around herself as a chilling breeze swept past. Slade slides his jacket off his form and offered it to her.

"Aren't you cold as well?" Victoria asked.

"I'll be fine. You're shivering," Slade answered.

"Thank you."

She pulled her arms through the sleeves, the warmth of the oversized jacket made her sigh in relief. The sleeves were way too big for her small arms, and the rest of it hung off her frame. Slade flashed a giant smile at her as he took in her appearance. Looking down in embarrassment when heat crept up her neck to her cheeks. Soon she was sitting next to the fire, Slade seated beside her, his gaze wandering away from the fire. Most likely lost in his own thoughts. She relaxed from the heat of both the jacket and the fire.

Several moments passed in comfortable silence. Her mind wandered to easier times when she was young. A memory of her father came to mind, the first time he had taught her how to waltz. He had placed an old record on his player and hands outreached, one wrapping around her thin, eight-year-old frame, another grasping hers. They were moving in a box that started to move gently from where they had begun. A giant smile and giggle had escaped from her lips as her daddy spun her. Lyrics of the song came into her mind, a favorite of her father's that he had always loved. The beautiful voice of Doris Day echoed through her mind. Before she knew it, twenty-one-year-old Victoria Queen began to whisper the lyrics.

"Stars shining above you

Night breezes seem to whisper "I love you"

Birds singing in the sycamore trees

Dream a little dream of me"

Toria saw Slade's face lit up beside her, "That's an oldie."

"It was one of dad's favorites. He taught me to waltz to it."

"Say nighty-night and kiss me

Just hold me tight and tell me you'll miss me

While I'm alone and blue as can be

Dream a little dream of me

"Stars fading but I linger on dear

Still craving your kiss

I'm longing to linger till dawn dear

Just saying this

"Sweet dreams till sunbeams find you

Sweet dreams that leave all worries behind you

But in your dreams whatever they be

Dream a little dream of me

"Stars fading but I linger on dear

Still craving your kiss

I'm longing to linger till dawn dear

Just saying this

"Sweet dreams, till sunbeams find you

Gotta keep dreaming leave all worries behind you

But in your dreams, whatever they be

Dream a little dream of me."

"You sing a bit like Doris Day," Slade remarked.

"That's what dad always said."

Slade smiled. Victoria felt the heat rising to her cheeks once more. Another one of her father's favorites came to mind. A classic in every sense of the word. This time she simple hummed the lovely tune. At Last, by Etta James could never be redone in a way that matched the original. She was near the end of the first verse when Slade sat up beside her and offered her his hand. Toria looked down at it quizzically.

"Would you dance with me?" he asked.

She looked up at him in surprise but nodded her head. Her hand gently grasping his.

"I didn't know you knew how to dance."

"My mum taught me when I was twelve."

"My dad taught me when I was eight."

Slade chuckled and wrapped his arm around her waist. She took in a deep breath with how close they were. His face was hovering above her and soon she heard him humming the song again, from the beginning. It wasn't long before she was humming along. He danced gracefully as he continued to hum along-side her. Her heart was racing when he inched closer towards her. Halfway through the song, her muscles relaxed and she rested her head on his shoulder. His hums vibrated through to her spine and caused her to shiver. Or at least that is the reason she gave in her head. His close proximity made her feel both safe and yet excited. She could feel the prickly hairs on his jaw touch her forehead. Breathing in his scent, the familiar smell causing her to relax more into him. She noticed a slight hitch in his breathing at the contact. This is perfect. In all her life. Of all the little sweet and precious moments this had to be one of the best. Slade was here, he was alive, he was dancing with her and him… and he felt like home.

"I love you," she whispered in his ear.

Suddenly their movement stopped. He kept his hold around her but it loosened. Oh no, has he changed his mind? A look of shock greeted her when she looked up at him. She was about to pull away when the firelight showed her the warm smile that had replaced the surprise on Slade's face. He leaned down and captured her lips with his own.

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A few days had passed since Toria had admitted her feelings to Slade, and their relationship seemed to be moving in a bit of a different direction than they had been. One that Toria was growing comfortable in, despite the newness of it. Slade grew more confident with public displays of affection, often kissing her on the cheek or opening holding her hand when the other two could see. Even Oliver was able to see that their relationship had taken a turn. And from the goofy grins that he often shoots her, Victoria figured that he was happy about it or at the least, accepting of it.

It was early in the morning, Victoria and Shado had both gone out to hunt together. Shado was teaching Toria a method of hunting with cages, that her father had taught her. They were heading back to camp, both pretty successful with two birds each. A companionable silence passed between them for several moments before Shado broke it, "So you and Slade huh?"

A smirk was plastered across her face, both affectionate and teasing. A blush crept it's way to Toria's cheeks and she looked down at the ground with a wide, goofy grin.

"Yeah. I figured that you had noticed by now," she teased back.

"Well, of course, I knew he was always interested in you. What I'm referring to is the difference of behavior that I've noticed between you in the last couple of days."

"Oh that," another chuckle and goofy grin.

"Yes, that."

"I told Slade I love him."

A wide smile spread across Shado's face and she seemed to walk closer to the blonde. Slowly she nodded her head in acknowledgment, "Let me guess… it was when you both were dancing?"

Victoria looked up at her in surprise but a smile was still plastered on her face. She figured she was looking pretty stupid smiling so much in the last couple of days, but she could honestly care less. I'm genuinely happy and I'm not afraid to show it. It felt nice to have a reason to smile for. She loved Slade and Slade loved her. And for right now that was enough for her.

"Yeah. How were you able to guess?" she pointed a suspicious eye on her.

"You both started acting differently around each other."

Shado's face suddenly dropped and Toria became slightly nervous. Normally she didn't care what people thought, but she valued Shado's option. It seemed strange to her that the Asian youth would have a problem with Slade and her relationship. Still, she couldn't help herself from asking, "That doesn't bother you does it?"

"No, not at all," Shado reassured her.

"Then what is it?"

Shado let out a sigh, "I was just thinking about how everything was at the beginning. How different things were when I first came to the camp."

Around five months ago they had defeated and killed Fyers. Before then Shado had just barely made it to their camp, without her father. Then she was training both Oliver and Victoria, adding to the training that Slade had been doing with them for months. The days that Toria had felt jealous because of the beautiful Asian, worried that Slade had feelings for Shado instead of her. In so many ways it felt like another lifetime ago. Yet, it had only been six months; a half a year ago. It had been around a year since they had been deserted here. And so many things had changed for them.

"It honestly feels like another lifetime ago," Toria declared.

"It does, doesn't it?"

The same sad smile flickered across Shado's face and Toria wished that she could help her grieving friend. They had both lost their fathers in the last year. She feared they'd never fully recover from that loss. Instead of feeding her empty words she offered her a smile, hoping that Shado knew that she was here for her. The Asian beauty offered her one as well and they continued to make their way to camp in silence. Toria wanted to say something to lessen the tension, but the only topics she thought of seemed trivial compared to the loss of their fathers. So she decided to remain silent.

They were walking into camp. Shado went first into the wrecked plane, Toria was right behind her and what greeted them was the sight of Slade slapping Oliver across the face with one of the bamboo training sticks. Toria chuckled outright, because of the face that was flashed on Oliver's. Shado grabbed her cage from her and placed them both down before she headed towards the pair, Toria continued to watch in amusement.

"You're not the first man to learn the hard way; that women are a distraction," Slade said.

"What was that?" Toria quipped. She tried to turn a serious, stern look towards him, but a smile threatened to tug at the corner of her mouth.

"Nothing," Slade lied. A playful smile on his face.

Toria couldn't help but smile back up at him and shook her head with a chuckle. Oliver and Shado were behind her, talking about something, but she paid them no mind. Until Slade remarked, "And I love my job, though I would trade it for a way off this island."

I guess I missed something Oliver said. It was probably just sarcastic anyway.

"Well, while you two were training, Toria and I went hunting," Shado explained.

Slade walked towards her and with a smirk remarked, "Well, there is nothing more attractive than a lady who can hunt."

Smiling up at him like an idiot, feeling a blush warm her cheeks, she walked beside him. He offered her another smirk with a little wink. Oliver and Shado were whispering in the background. Slade walked over to the cages and she found herself looking away when he snaps the bird's neck. You'd think that after all this time it wouldn't bother me. Thinking about it though, she hadn't often done that to the animals they captured, that normally was something Shado and Slade did. Sometimes Oliver even did it, but normally she was on skinning duty.

"Gosh I'm starving," Slade declared.

Just then a noise sounded in the background.

"What is that?" Oliver asked in bewilderment.

Everyone began to run towards the sound. Slade and Toria were close behind Shado and Oliver.

"It's Fyers proximity detector," Slade replied.

"We salvaged it from the soldier's camp. There is something moving outside our safe zone," Shado explained.

"Maybe it is Billy," Victoria added.

"Maybe," Shado nodded.

"Or maybe it is an animal," Oliver suggested.

"There is an image interface," Shado explained as she changes a few settings.

Soon an image appeared on the scene, three human shaped, silhouettes. Victoria felt her hand shake as she grasped onto Slade's arm. Silently she tried to steady herself. Three more people were now on the island with them. From the looks of it, all three men had guns. Most likely these guys weren't here to help them out. Closing her eyes to try to calm herself, she was greeted by the face of Fyers. Her stomach churned and she quickly opened her eyes to be rid herself of the image. Because of Fyers Oliver had been tortured, because of Fyers Slade had to go into hiding here, in this wrecked plane, Fyers had killed Yao Fei. Slade's gaze broke her from her thoughts, his face showed the concern that she was feeling.

"Great," he muttered under his breath. His hands clutching into fists at his sides.

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"We need to look around a see what the hell is going on," Slade said.

"Okay, I'm coming with you," Oliver replied, walking towards him.

"I think we all should go," Shado voiced.

Slade nodded in agreement and his eyes landed on Victoria.

She nodded her head and then tightened the sword holder that was placed on her back. Everyone made themselves busy getting ready. Though Slade had the most gear he still managed to finish first. Silently, he walked over towards Toria and placed a hand on her arm.

"Are you alright? I saw you shaking earlier."

Toria sighed and ran a hand through her long blonde hair, "I just can't believe we have to do this again. First Fyers, now this? Isn't dealing with Billy enough?"

His face was solemn and he nodded in understanding. She made to walk in front of him, to pass him but gentle as he grabbed her wrist.

"Stay beside me, I'll keep you safe," he whispered.

His eyes shone with sincerity. He meant every word he had said. Her heart warmed in her chest. A slight tingle settled into her stomach as she stared up at him. It felt so good hearing those words. Even though she wasn't sure if he'd be able to deliver on his promise, she knew he'd try his hardest. Gently she cupped his cheek in her hand. A smile tugging at the corner of her mouth as he leaned into the touch. Victoria smiled and then dropped her hand to the side. Shado and Oliver headed silently out of the camp and they followed.

######################################################################

All four of them were moving through the forest as quietly as they were able. Slade held the proximity detector firmly in his hands. Toria stood beside him, every once in a while looking down at the screen, seeing the dots moving closer towards them.

"Well, there is definitely someone out there. And they are getting closer."

They were heading towards a slope. One side slightly raised while the trail in front of the remained at the same level. Silently Shado moved away from the group of four and walked towards the slope.

"Where are you going?" Slade asked. His voice laced with a bit of concern.

"Flanking position. If they get the drop on you, you're going to need backup," Shado explained.

Victoria looked towards her. Sending her a silent look asking her if she needs any help and wanted her to join her.

"Stay with Slade and Oliver," Shado replied out loud.

Then Shado turned towards Oliver, he was smiling back at her as they carried on in Chinese. Afterward, she faded out of view. Besides Victoria, Slade stood, rolling his eyes and muttered, "She's teaching you Chinese how sweet."

Toria chuckled in response. Oliver's giant grin never wavered.

"I'm sure she'd be happy to teach you."

That's actually a really good idea. It would give us an advantage. Victoria made to reply when they heard a loud noise in the background.

All three of them rushed up the slope towards the direction Shado was last seen. Oliver was in front of the group. He picked up Shado green hood. Shado! Victoria looked around to see any sign of her. They ran forward, Slade's eyes quickly picked up the trail and they were making their way through the forest. As they moved a mantra echoed in Victoria's brain, that was pushing her forward, "Please be alright Shado. Please be alright Shado. We are coming for you. Just hold them a little while longer." Toria knew in the back of her mind if she allowed Shado's disappearance to sink into her mind she'd be a mess. This can't be happening again. Please, God, I'm begging you to protect her; just till we get her. Please, she prayed.

######################################################################

It was dark when they closed in on where the men had taken Shado. Slade, Oliver, and Victoria all made their way as silently as they could. Slade was the first to make out the figures. Gently he elbowed Oliver beside him. Toria nodded her head towards Slade and the three of them crept closer. Soon it was only a lone bush that could work as a cover, Victoria stood at Slade's right side. Oliver was walking past them when Slade grabbed his arm and pulled her back to them.

"What in the hell are you doing?" Slade whispered.

"Trying to save her," Oliver replied back, his face was serious and he made to pull out of Slade's hold.

Tightening his grip on Oliver, "Listen, kid, you aren't the only one who cares for her safety."

"Ollie, we are going to try to get her back," Toria reassured.

"We have to be smart about it though. Wait for my signal."

Oliver, Victoria, and Slade watched on as Shado was questioned by one of the men. They were wearing camo and military gear, but Toria couldn't help but notice that not all of them carried themselves like soldiers. They were probably mercenaries like Fyers men. One of the men was growling at Shado, a knife was in his hand and was pointed towards her, "Where are the graves?"

Shado sneered back at him, "I don't know what you're talking about."

He took the hilt of the knife and smack her in the face with it. Then grabbed her forcibly by the hair with his free hand, the blade rested on Shado's chin, "Tell me."

Toria was able to make out a gash on Shado's cheek, the skin around it quickly turning dark.

In the next moment, Oliver ran forward and tackled the man. Slade rushed after him, pistol in hand as he shot one of the men down. Victoria followed behind Slade with her sword in hand, she focuses her attention on one of the men. He put up a bit of a fight he tried blocked her with his large gun but she saw an opening and thrust her blade into the man's chest. Both Slade and Shado were beside her.

"Oliver!" Shado and Victoria cried at once.

Oliver had grasped a large stone from the ground and was raising it above the man's head.

"Oliver!" Slade cried as well.

Oliver brought the stone down upon the man's head repeatedly. Blood splashing across his face. Victoria felt her stomach churn as the man's face stopped resembling a face but was instead covered in blood and torn tissue. She wanted to look away, needed to look away but her eyes seemed glued to the man's mutilated face.

"Oliver!" Shado exclaimed.

Finally, Oliver dropped the large stone and stumbled backward. His face covered in blood and grasping his breath. Victoria reached out her hand towards him but quickly dropped it to her side. What could she offer as comfort right now? They had killed before. That was just how you had to survive on this island. But with his bare hands and such a crude tool? Oliver hadn't ever taken a life like that. And she doubted any words that she could think to say we're going to be enough for him right now.

Silently Oliver got up, Shado rushed towards him and wrapped her arms around him. His face was expressionless, his arms hung to the side. Victoria caught one look at his face before she turned her eye away. His face was fearful, shocked and other emotions that she had never seen before in him. But most of all he looked lost. More lost than when they had lost their father or Yao Fei or even when he had killed Fyers. He feels that he has lost a piece of himself. One that he will never get back. Again, she wanted to comfort him but words were gambled in her head and refused to escape her lips.

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